LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



©jjap, ContjriQfjt If xu 

Shelf. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



I 



Extracts From the Sebmgn§? 



OF THE LATE 



GEORGE DUNKLE. 




-by- 



CARRIE E. KIRKHAM. 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 
CANANDAIGUA, N. Y. 

1894. 




Entered according to Act of Congress, in . the year 1894, by 

CARRIE E. KIRKHAM, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington . 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 031458 



PREFACE. 



The object of this work is to preserve to the 
world the truth as declared by him from whose 
sermons these extracts are taken. Though a 
true preacher of the gospel, his preparation for 
this work was not obtained in school or by 
human wisdom, but by a personal experience 
of the truths he explained. His ordination 
was not by the laying on of human hands, but 
by the descent of the Holy Ghost, by which he 
was anointed and qualified to refute error, ex- 
pose false doctrines and explain the Scriptures. 

He was never called by such titles as Rev. > 
Dr., Bishop, or Rabbi, but was a plain farmer 
of ordinary business education, whose only ob- 
ject in life was the salvation of the soul. 

By faith in and obedience to the Word he be- 
came a wise master-builder in the church of 
Christ, a workman who needed not to be 
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 
In opposition to all wrong in church or state, 
he fearlessly defended the principles of eternal 
right at the expense of all things. 

For many years he stood in the Methodist 
Episcopal and Wesleyan Methodist churches 



PREFACE. 



iv 



and " cried aloud, spared not," and showed 
them their sins and transgressions, until there 
was no ear to hear and every man' s hand was 
against him; when according to the truth, " If 
they persecute you in one city flee ye to an- 
other," he confined his labors, as did Paul, to 
his own house, and taught those who came un- 
to him; and many souls can testify to the sav- 
ing power of his doctrine, though few would 
make all the sacrifices requisite to full salva- 
tion. 

For more than twenty years I listened to 
these discourses, which came forth with no 
forethought, no study, no previous preparation. 
He often said: " If I try to think of something 
to say, I get confused and can say nothing. 
When a truth is given me as a foundation for 
remarks, if I revolve it over in my mind and 
think I will say certain things about it, I am 
confounded; so I can do nothing but receive 
the word from God, and be simply an instru- 
ment through whom the Spirit can speak. If 
I attempt nothing more I feel at ease, and have 
no trouble to find ideas and language, as all is 
given when needed. So God is entitled to all 
the glory, and the creature, as nothing, is lost 
in wonder, love and praise to a being who uses 
a worm to thrash a mountain and weak things 
to confound the mighty, that no flesh should 
glory in his x>resence." 



V 



PREFACE, 



His library consisted of the Bible and the 
Hymn-book, and his only leader, teacher and 
comforter was the Holy Ghost. These extracts, 
though correctly showing his attitude towards 
the professed church and the world, and the 
doctrines he taught as necessary to salvation, 
lack the power and force with which they were 
spoken, which sent conviction and light to 
every honest heart and confusion into the ranks 
of error. 

That voice is stilled in death, but the truth 
he declared lives in the souls of the few who 
hold his memory dear, and who still contend 
for the faith once delivered to the saints. 

The Author. 



CONTENTS. 



I, METHODISM 1 

II, The Lesser Methodists 23 

III, Calvinism 39 

IV, Scriptural Salvation, Justification 46 

V, " " A Deeper Work of Grace 59 

VI, " " Holiness 67 

VII, " " Perfection 81 

Till, " " The Resurrection 89 

IX, Universal Fellowship 98 

X, God 113 

XI, Man 122 

XII, Satan 131 

XIII, Camp-meeting Incidents 141 

XIV, The Key of Knowledge 160 

XV, Eightepus and Unrighteous Judging 171 

XVI, Means of Grace 186 

XVII, Separation 194 

XVIII, Persecution 202 

XIX, Christian Warfare 210 

XX, Prayer 219 

XXI, To Those Professing Christians not Connected 
with any Church Organization 229 

XXII, Faith 239 

XXIII, Hope 246 

XXIV, Charity 254 

XXV, Usefulness 263 

XXVI, The Witness 273 

XXVII, Scriptural Restraint 282 

XXVIII, Delusion 290 

XXIX, Talents 296 

XXX, Errors 300 

XXXI, Cause for Thanks 307 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

OF THE LATE 

GEORGE DUNKLE. 



CHAPTER I. 

METHODISM. 

"A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 5 ' 
When the Protestant world was confirmed in 
the belief that salvation depended wholly up- 
on God, who bestowed it upon whom he would, 
Arminianism, like a grain of mustard seed, was 
sown, and man's responsibility, which leaves 
his future destiny to his own choice, began to 
take root in the arid soil. 

John Wesley, whose history is familiar in 
every Methodist household, though an educat- 
ed minister of the Established Church of Eng- 
land, espoused the doctrine of man 5 s free will. 
Destitute of grace, when death stared him in 
the face he found he was unprepared for the 
event. 

As he saw the fearlessness of the simple Mo- 
ravians, who were in the same peril, and heard 



2 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

their testimonies of saving faith, conviction 
seized him; and in time he, too, felt the witness 
of sins forgiven. 

Prom that time he taught the doctrine of a 
change of heart as a necessity to a Christian 
life; that conviction precedes this change, and 
was the work of God, who impressed upon the 
heart a sense of sins committed and the awful 
result, and was given irrespective of man' s wish 
or desire; but that he had power to resist this 
conviction and harden his heart against it; or 
could yield to it, confess his sins, repent, seek 
forgiveness by faith in Jesus Christ, and thus 
become saved. 

He also taught great simplicity of manners, 
separation from all worldly amusements, sobri- 
ety and devotion, plainness of attire, and strict 
conformity to the Scriptures as obligatory and 
as an outward evidence of an inward change, 
and as the only way of retaining God' s appro- 
bation. 

Although he gave some hints as to the deep- 
er work of grace, history gives little definite 
light on the subject; and it is evident he had 
no knowledge of any change beyond conver- 
sion. 

He taught correctly justification by faith, 
the sacrifice necessary to obtain it, and the obe- 
dience requisite to retain it. 

God so blessed the little germ of right doctrine 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLB. 3 

that many were added to the number who 
could testify to sins forgiven. 

To-day the Methodist Episcopal church 
points with pride to John Wesley as its great 
founder, and to his life and doctrine as the 
moulding influence of its great body, 

Methodism as it was, and Methodism as it is, 
is a question I feel it my duty to consider as 
one of vital interest to the world. 

As it was, it struck conviction to the heart 
and converted the soul; it drove out the 
worldly minded, the pleasure seeker, and the 
fashion follower; it brought in the honest, the 
poor, the meek and the obedient. 

As it is, will show whether the old landmarks 
have been kept or whether one vestige of the 
original structure remains. 

I will attend its regular Sabbath service and 
follow its different ways of doing good with an 
unbiased mind. I will look and listen for the 
doctrine and followers of John Wesley. As I 
near the edifice I see instead of a simple build- 
ing, such as he would have approved, a struc- 
ture as grand and towering as far toward the 
skies as their utmost means can afford. 

I enter with reverence, for it is said to be 
God's house; but with floors carpeted and pews 
cushioned, ceiling frescoed and walls adorned, 
gilded Bible and silver chalice, crosses of ever- 
greens and bouquets of flowers, I look to be 



4 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



certain I have not made a mistake and entered 
* some great cathedral or church of St. Peter. 
But no, it is truly Methodist, and I am seated 
in the place reserved for strangers and the poor; 
the other seats being owned by the wealthy mem- 
bers, who, if one not of the same social stand- 
ing was admitted would scorn to be seated by 
his side. 

The pews slowly fill with worshipers, who 
bow their heads reverently on their jeweled 
hands ; and I again think, by mistake I must 
have entered a resort of fashion, as all are 
arrayed in broadcloth and fine twined linen, 
plaited hair, gold and costly apparel; except a 
few in the corner, who, though poor, do as well 
as their means will allow to imitate the example 
set in the other pews. I look back more than 
a century and see John Wesley and his follow- 
ers worshiping in a house with no adornments, 
plainly clad, devoutly obedient to the Word 
and fervent in spirit; and I feel that God ap- 
proves. 

The peals of the greater or lesser organ fill 
the spacious room, and I can hardly tell whether 
the strains are operatic, military or religious; 
and I hear John Wesley say: "I have no objec- 
tions to your bringing musical instruments in- 
to the service providing they are neither seen 
nor heard." 

The minister gives out the truly Methodist 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DU^KLE. 



5 



hymn, "Before Jehovah's Awful Throne, 5 ' or 
u O for a Heart to Praise My God," or "Far 
From My Thoughts Yain World Begone," or 
some other of those whose sentiments came from 
heaven, and if sung in the spirit would find a 
response among the glorified throng; and I take 
courage, feeling a thrill of joy as it is slowly 
read, and wonder there is not a trembling in 
the pews as the awful truths come forth. But 
I am suddenly attracted by the organ again, 
and then the singing; there is music enough, 
and harmony enough, and zeal enough, but 
something chills me. At its close I have for- 
gotten all those solemn words, and I can remem- 
ber nothing but the great tones of the organ 
and the airiness of the choir, whose manner 
and spirit is as though at a musical entertain- 
ment; and I find upon inquiry that all are not 
even professors of religion, but have been in- 
vited or hired to perform this part of divine 
worship. 

I again hear John W esley say, in the lan- 
guage of the Holy Writ: "I will sing with the 
spirit and the understanding also; I will pray 
with the spirit and the understanding also;" 
and I waited to see if some learned infidel or 
profane man, whose gift of language was equal 
to the task, was invited or hired for the next 
act of worship. But the minister offered the 
prayer himself, which flowed from his lips 



6 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



like a lovely song; and he prayed long and for 
many things, but no sinner quailed before it, 
and none said "Amen" to his. giving thanks; 
~but all bowed in stately dignity, except the 
members of the choir, who whispered, laughed, 
exchanged notes and prepared for the next 
hymn, the sentiment of which was gospel truth, 
but which, with preludes and interludes, was 
consumed in the flood of melody. 

It is a day to receive probationers into full 
membership. The text is: "I am the vine; ye 
are the branches." I listened eagerly, for here 
surely, if anywhere, I will hear the doctrine 
that caused sinners in Zion to be afraid and 
sinners outside to cry, "God be merciful to 
me." But I waited in vain to hear the holy 
character of the vine portrayed, which would 
have sent conviction to every heart, or the 
qualification necessary to become branches, 
which would have thundered condemnation on 
every head ; instead, it was conceded that all 
present were ready to die and prepared for the 
judgment, and were exhorted to good works for 
the elevation of mankind as the fruit necessary 
to the Christian life. 

O, what would John Wesley have said at 
such daubing with un tempered mortar; such 
teaching for doctrine the commandments of 
men; such turning of the ears from the truth to 
fables; such philosophy and vain deceit to lull 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 7 

the conscience to sleep, to avoid the offense of 
the cross, to add to the numerical and financial 
strength of the society ! 

Again the organ sounded, and the candidates 
for membership came forward. Old men, just 
from the marts of business speculation and 
schemes for money-making, whose garments 
are already moth eaten by the cries of those 
whose hire has been kept back by fraud; young 
men, fresh from the ceremonies and oaths of 
some secret order of darkness, who, by a 
known sign, infomr the officiating clergyman 
that he is already a brother; women dressed in 
feathers and flowers, ruffles and curls; children, 
ignorant of the meaning of these proceedings, 
slyly smiling at each other, stand and answer 
the solemn questions, at which they would 
have shuddered and paled had they been taught 
they meant anything. I listened to the vow: — 
"I do here, in the presence of God and this con- 
gregation, renew the solemn promise of my 
baptismal covenant, which is that I renounce 
the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and 
glory of the world, with all covetous desires of 
the same and the carnal desires of the flesh, so 
* that I will not follow nor be led by them. I 
will obediently keep God's holy will and com- 
mandment, and walk in the same all the days 
of my life; I now ratify and confirm the same, 
and acknowledge myself bound faithfully to 



8 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



observe and keep that covenant. I will con- 
tribute of my earthly substance according to 
my ability, to the support of the gospel and 
the various benevolent enterprises of the 
church. I trust I have saving faith, and will 
cheerfully be governed by the rules of the 
church and promote its welfare and the advance- 
ment of the Redeemer's kingdom." After 
which they were given the right hand of fellow- 
ship, and, according to the sermon, were branch- 
es of the true vine. 

The minister then read this notice: "Sabbath 
school immediately after the close of this ser- 
vice. Lecture this evening by Bishop — on 
Church Extension, Temperance, or Missions; 
after which there will be exercises by the chil- 
dren of the Sunday-school, consisting of dia- 
logues, recitations, responsive reading, inter- 
spersed with solos, duets and other music. 
Monday evening there will be a dime social at 
Brother A.'s for the organ fund. Tuesday 
evening, class meeting. Wednesday evening 
there will be an entertainment, consisting of 
'The Temple of Fame, 5 closing by tableau 
shown by colored lights. The arrangement is , 
fine and the costumes elegant. Admission 
twenty-five cents. Thursday evening, prayer- 
meeting. Friday the church and Sunday- 
school, who so much need rest and recrea- 
tion, will go on a picnic excursion to Watkin's 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 



9 



Glen. All are invited. Saturday afternoon, in 
the lecture-room, an oyster supper will be serv- 
ed for the benefit of the Sunday school library, 
We hope in behalf of the great good done in our 
Sunday-school that this will be largely attend- 
ed. Choir meeting in the evening. Remember, 
also, the Christmas tree, but a few weeks away, 
is to be provided for, and every one is expected 
to give — time, money and influence, — to aid all 
these good works. The Lord loveth a cheerful 
giver, and in proportion as you desire his bless- 
ing, so must you give liberally to these worthy 
objects." 

After a voluntary from the organ and the 
benediction, a steward said: "Brethren and 
friends, there will be a donation party at the 
parsonage two weeks from next Tuesday night, 
for the benefit of our beloved pastor, who la- 
bors in word and doctrine for the salvation of 
our immortal souls; and we should show our 
appreciation of his self-denying efforts by the 
liberality with which we patronize this gather^ 
ing." A feeble old man said in an undertone: 
"Brother, that is class-meeting night." The 
steward dropped his head an instant and then 
said: "Do not forget the time, — two weeks 
from next Tuesday night." I saw John Wes- 
ley a silent spectator to these proceedings, and, 
bent on seeing all they called good, I attended 
the gatherings of which notice had been given. 



10 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



The room, where were gathered the children 
for Sunday school, was decked and ornament- 
ed to attract and amuse childish minds; and 
the exercises were simply an entertainment. 
The sacred lesson, which alone might have 
had some divine influence, was so embellished 
by pictures, maps, and drawings that the force 
of truth was blunted and destroyed; and as 
they filed out to the sound of the organ not a 
serious look nor a sober countenance was seen. 

All came and went as to any other place of 
amusement. Not one word of truth did one 
hear from the little groups gathered here and 
there, but the conversation was of the maps 
and pictures, the flowers and music, and all 
went home to prepare for the next entertain* 
ment. 

I had scarcely time to think of John Wesley 
before the evening bell called together a full 
house for the learned bishop to address and 
the children to amuse. An intellectual feast 
it was, but there was nothing for the poor and 
illiterate, who in Christ' s time had the gospel 
preached to them, except an appeal for their 
last dollar, that the missionaries might take 
the same gospel to the poor heathen, who had 
no blessed Bible to give them such light as was 
here walked in, and no entertainments such as 
the meeting closed with. A liberal collection 
was taken up and all went home satisfied. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 11 



At the dime social all was glee ; Christ was 
Belial ; the preacher and the infidel, the pro- 
fane and the church member, the class-leader 
and the Sunday-school teacher, all were as one, 
laughing, joking, playing games ; and not one* 
word or act to distinguish the followers of John 
Wesley from the others. But as they realized 
quite a sum above expenses, the social was 
called a decided success. 

Tuesday evening I went to the class-meeting. 
It being lodge night the minister was absent, 
and not over half a dozen met to tell of God's 
dealing with them. One sister said: "I am 
not satisfied." The leader mournfully replied: 
" We are now taught it is impossible to become 
so, and, sister, you must wait until you get to 
heaven to be fully satisfied." 

A brother said : " I do many things I ought 
not, and leave undone many things I ought to 
do ; yet I rejoice at the prospect of finally hav- 
ing a seat with the blood- washed throng. 5 5 The 
leader said: "Go on, brother, and may the 
blessing of God attend you." 

Another said : " I wish I knew I was a Chris- 
tian." " You do not work enough for Jesus," 
said the leader. 

Still another said: £ 6 1 desire a deeper work 
of grace, but know not how to obtain it. " " God 
bless you," said the leader, ' 6 and now let us 
close the exercises with the hymn : ' How hap- 



12 EXTRACTS FRO}! THE SERMONS 



p y is the pilgrim' s lot ! ' I went away hear- 
ing John Wesley say : "The duty of the class- 
leader shall be to inquire how the souls of each 
prosper ; how each grows in the knowledge and 
love of God ; to advise, reprove, comfort, and 
exhort as occasion may require.'' 

The Wednesday evening entertainment called 
out a crowded house ; the sacred desk with its 
Holy Bible was removed, the platform was 
decorated with flags and bunting, flowers and 
evergreens, and a gilded throne erected where the 
chosen vessel of God stands to call sinners to re- 
pentance ; and when the curtain was withdrawn 
we saw the eldest daughter of the minister seat- 
ed upon the throne, adorned as the £ 4 Goddess 
of Fame," having a crown on her head and one 
in her hand. Church members in the costumes 
of Washington, Queen Elizabeth, Columbus, 
Grace Darling, Xantippe, Joan of Arc, Susan 
B. Anthony, Widow Bedott, Topsy, Mrs. Part- 
ington, and a mother with an infant in her 
arms, each presented their claims to the crown 
in honor of their achievements, which was fin- 
ally given to the mother as wielding a more 
potent and beneficent influence on the world 
than any other. The tableau through the col- 
ored lights called forth peals of laughter, and 
the exercises closed with a request for all to 
join in the Doxology, " Praise God from whom 
all blessings flow." We walked out slowly, 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DTOKLE. 13 

giving a lingering look at the goddess, still 
seated in the place where the preacher is sup- 
posed to show the way to escape the torments 
of the bottomless pit, and heard the voice of 
John Wesley and the Methodist Episcopal Dis- 
cipline say: "All those who join these socie* 
ties are to avoid doing what is not for the glory 
of God, such as taking any diversions that can- 
not be used in the name of the Lord, denying 
themselves and taking up their cross daily, 
submitting to bear the reproach of Christ and 
to be the filth and off-scouring of the world." 

Thursday the minister was called to the bed- 
side of one of the flock soon to die, and unpre- 
pared for the event. The dying one expressed 
his fears of the future and asked for direction 
and prayers. The minister said: "God is a 
loving heavenly Father and knows all our frail- 
ties. He makes allowance for all our weak- 
ness, and invites us to love and trust him. He 
will not suffer any to be lost who confide in 
him ; so throw away your fears, my dear broth- 
er, and lean on Jesus to carry you safely through 
the dark waters of death to his Father's bosom. 
He said : 'Let not your heart be troubled : I go 
to prepare mansions for you ; neither let it be 
afraid, for in my Father's house are many 
mansions.' You will leave the church militant 
for the church triumphant, and there you will 
wait for those you leave behind." He them 



14 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

sang " Sweet Beulali Land," and " Gates Ajar," 
and prayed that the man might lean on God's 
rod and staff through the valley and shadow 
of death. Thus assured of entire safety, the 
man, unchanged and unforgiven, calms his 
troubled fears and closes his eyes to earth 
6 ' trusting in Jesus." Where will he awaken? 
I heard John Wesley say in the words of the 
prophet: " They have healed the hurt of the 
daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, 
peace, when there is no peace." 

At the Thursday evening prayer meeting a 
dozen or more joined in the worship. The 
preacher read a few verses from the Bible, which 
he said were to be the topic of the evening, 
and all the exercises were to tend to that point. 
So, as all was to be done by rule, I wondered 
what would become of the sinner who might 
possibly come to confess his sins, or the back- 
slider who had lost his evidence. Several were 
called upon to pray for — the topic ; and after 
singing to the same, were the testimonies. 

An aged sister, for whom my heart yearned, 
said: "I am living on borrowed time, and 
feel I must soon die. I desire to be ready for 
the event. I often think how, when young in 
life, I gave my heart to God and he converted 
my soul. Then a Methodist was known by his 
dress and deportment, and was persecuted for 
his religion. I had the witness then, and knew 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DU^KLE. 15 

I was saved ; the glory of God was in my soul, 
and his law was my delight. I wish it was so 
with me now ; I would not fear to die, and 
would live in joyful anticipation of the event. 
But everything seems so changed ; yet I hope 
some way to meet God in peace." At which 
the minister said : 6 Times have greatly changed ; 
the church has made great advancement in 
fifty years, and the greater light of the age has 
done away with persecution. God is love ; Je- 
sus is love ; heaven is love ; and if we love him 
we need not fear for the future. Indeed, our 
love should be so perfect as to cast out this 
fear. We should trust ourselves implicitly 
with Jesus, who will take us safely through 
death to the courts of glory." 

My spirit groaned within me that the last 
spark of conviction must be quenched by such 
a soothing song, from a follower of John Wes- 
ley, who said: cc After conversion the witness 
of salvation increases in the soul if faithful," 
and, "None are true Christians unless perse- 
cuted." 

Another sister, who with curled hair, hat gay 
with ribbons and flowers, rings on her fingers 
and ruffles on her dress, arose boldly and said : 
4 'I rejoice in a free and a full salvation," to which 
all responded heartily, and the preacher said : 
" That is good, and what all ought to be able to 
testify to. " Again I heard J ohn Wesley and the 



16 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Methodist Episcopal Discipline say : " Let all 
our people be required to conform to the apos- 
tolic precept, not to adorn themselves with gold 
or pearls or gaudy apparel." 

A downcast looking brother said : " I am sat- 
isfied I am not a true Christian ; and not one 
of us lives up to the Discipline or the Bible, by 
which all will be judged. I know not what to 
do to better my condition, and am daily losing 
confidence in the church." "This brother is 
evidently laboring under a fearful temptation," 
said the preacher. "None have a right to 
judge the conscience of another, and we must 
keep peace and harmony in our borders. The 
great mantle of charity covers all these things 
tbat are so magnified to our dear brother's eyes, 
and if he would go to work, heart and soul, 
money and influence, for Jesus, the mist would 
clear away, and he would see clearly the glori- 
ous work done for the world by this church." 
I heard John Wesley and the prophet say: 
' 1 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron 
and with a point of a diamond." "Judgment 
also will I lay to the line and righteousness to 
the plummet, and the hail shall sweep away 
the refuge of lies, and the water shall overflow 
the hiding place." "I strive against my sin- 
ful nature," said another, "but am again and 
again overcome. 5 ' " The very best way to get 
the victory," said the preacher, " is with good 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 17 



works for the benefit of others." But John 
Wesley and Paul said : u The husbandman that 
laboreth must be first partaker of the fruit." 

"We are commanded to live holy lives," 
said another, "but I sin in thought, word and 
deed every day ; and trust in Jesus, who died 
for sin, and who is my righteousness, to plead 
my cause in the final day. " " Amen ! Amen ! ' 5 
was the hearty response without comment, al- 
though John Wesley and the prophet said r 
u Woe unto them that call evil good, and good 
evil ; that put darkness for light, and light for 
darkness : that put bitter for sweet, and sweet 
for bitter." And John said: " He that com- 
mitteth sin is of the devil." 

All the other testimonies were, "I love 
Jesus." But none heard John, the beloved 
disciple, say: 4 'This is the love of God, that we 
keep his commandments." 

The minister then arose and said: "These 
names of unconverted persons have been hand- 
ed me as subjects of special prayer. Let us all 
join with Brother A. [the man who sinned 
every day] in supplication for these souls. Re- 
member Jesus said: 'Where two of you shall 
agree on earth as touching anything that they 
shall ask, it shall be done for them of my 
Father. 5 " While they prayed earnestly, I 
was pondering in my mind, why, if this is 



18 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

God's plan of saving souls, do they not pray 
for the whole community instead of these few; 
and if this way is really believed in, why is not 
a general time appointed to pray for the entire 
world, heathen and all. For God would cer- 
tainly sooner save all than a few; and it would 
be so much less trouble and expense. I then 
remembered having read that "God saved souls 
by the foolishness of preaching," and I saw 
the conditions of salvation hidden, yea, buried, 
by the commandments of men. But none 
heard John Wesley say: u Ye have taken away 
the key of knowledge; ye will neither go in 
yourselves, and them that were entering ye 
hinder." 

The picnic was now on hand; all was mirth 
and levity. The preacher and those for whom 
special prayer was made, the ungodly, the sin- 
ner, those who but a few days ago had taken a 
solemn vow to renounce the devil and all his 
works, and not to follow or be led by the vani- 
ties of the world, and the man who was losing 
confidence in the church, were among the num- 
ber. The bouquets on the table were admired, 
the variety and richness of the ornamented 
cakes were commented, and the .jokes passed 
around. The beauties of nature were gazed 
upon, speeches were made, hymns to nature 
sung, and all faces were turned homeward with 
not a thought of death, hell and the grave. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE D TINKLE. 19 

But I saw John Wesley in his scanty lodg- 
ings on his knees, joining the Savior's prayer 
to be kept from the evils that are in the world. 

At the oyster supper were games of chance 
and games of kissing, for which those who 
joined paid for the privilege; there were lottery 
tickets, ten cents each, for the pieces of cake 
in which was a gold ring: there were prizes 
drawn at twenty-five cents each from a drawer 
ingeniously arranged, and many other ways 
of getting money; following the unwritten pre- 
cept of the church, that "the end sanctifies the 
means. " All ate liberally and paid in full and 
Grod was thanked that their efforts were thus 
blessed. I heard John Wesley say: "Except a 
man be born again he cannot enter the kingdom 
of heaven." There were here certainly no evi- 
dences of anew birth. "If a man love the 
world the love of the Father is not in him." 
What more could be done to show a lack of 
divine love I failed to discover. Christ was 
separate from sinners, but there was no sepa- 
ration here, in deed or spirit, and when viewed 
in the light of truth, where are there any 
marks of the Lord J esus ? 

But I must not forget I was intent on seeing 
it all, and so I will attend the choir meeting. 
I find it feebly attended and not a pleasant 
face is to be seen Its members, now in a jan- 



20 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

gle by envies and jealousies, were forsaken by 
the hired alto, and the bass must needs go to the 
Odd Fellow' s ball. So the doors closed early 
and I was left to my reflections, which began 
with these words of John Wesley: "Hell will 
be paved with the skulls of hireling priests." 

This is not in any way an overdrawn picture 
of the present condition of Methodism. I might 
even have taken it farther and portrayed the 
strifes among the leaders as to who should be 
greatest, and the pride and arrogance of those 
who became such. I might have shown the 
still farther decline toward the mother church 
in celebrating Christmas and Easter. 

But enough has been said, and cannot truth- 
fully be denied, to show that not a vestige of 
early Methodism is left, except in forms and 
ceremonies. 

As the primitive church began to allow and 
countenance a little deviation from the strait 
gate and narrow way, which was added to year 
after year, it at last grew into the universal 
Bishop; the worship of images and the Virgin 
Mary, the burning of Bibles and Protestants, 
the sale of indulgences and the infallibility of 
the Pope. So, the little unrighteous leaven, 
first winked at in Methodism, has leavened the 
whole lump; and philosophy and reason have 
taken the place of the Holy Ghost; pride and 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUTSTKLE. 21 



popularity the place of meekness and simplici- 
ty; and the productions of men, the sacred 
Scriptures; until there is not a ray of divine 
light in the entire body. Even more, her in- 
fluence is, as that of the Beast, to destroy and 
devour. 

The leaders are responsible for this degener- 
acy. They are the ones who have moulded the 
great superstructure into its present propor- 
tions of worldly entertainments, dishonest gains 
and hypocritical pretentions. 

Let a soul express his honest convictions of 
his unsaved state, and it is drowned in "love 
for Jesus and good works." 

Let one honestly cry aloud against these 
abominations and he is immediately stifled by, 
""Let us have peace, and love one another." 

If he is true to his convictions and cries out 
again he is gagged by, "Your lack of charity 
is sinful, and we will allow no more heresy here. ' ' 

If a soul should, independent of their influ- 
ence, get converted, he is set to work in the 
vineyard and so destroyed, while he is but a 
tender shoot that needs the care and training 
of one who understands the care of a vineyard. 

If by any possible means one arrives at a 
deeper work of grace and begins to deal faith- 
fully with others, all means are used to draw 
him into the great vortex, where all are swal- 



22 EXTEACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

lowed up and blinded to the truth of God; the 
voice of the reproving spirit is unheeded; they 
yield little by little until all are united into one 
solid mass of delusion, and, being fully com- 
mitted with the influence, the truth has no 
weight, and one after another dies and goes in- 
to eternity with the condemnation of the Bible 
upon them. 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 



23 



CHAPTER II. 

THE LESSEE METHODISTS. 

" Israel was holiness unto the Lord, but she 
hath forsaken his commandments. Her treach- 
erous sister Judah saw it, but hath not turned 
unto me with her whole heart but feignedly, 
saith the Lord. Yet backsliding Israel hath 
justified herself more than treacherous Judah. " 

As liberty of conscience grew less in the 
Methodist Episcopal church, for justifiable 
reasons a number of leaders at different times 
seceded, and organized separate religious bod- 
ies, each having some reformatory articles in 
their government or creed as a basis of action. 
How nearly any one of these societies may 
have come to the Scriptural pattern of a church 
in their laws and regulations, is not my pres- 
ent object to investigate ; for, even if the re- 
quired standard were fully reached, if the spir- 
itual life of the body be lacking, they were but 
perfect bodies without a soul, and consequently 
useless. 

The question which most concerns us then is 
this : Is there any more Scriptural religion in 



24 EXTEACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

these smaller bodies than in the Methodist 
Episcopal church ? 

A stream never rises higher than its fountain ; 
neither is the spirituality of any church greater 
than that of its leaders, who, being public men 
and their teachings public, all who hear have 
a just right to examine and decide upon them. 
A public example or production that is to prove 
the salvation or damnation of souls should be 
carefully and fairly weighed by the unvar- 
nished truth ; and he who is proven to be chosen 
of God and qualified to labor in the vineyard, 
as was Moses or Isaiah, Peter or Paul, who has 
the Holy Ghost in the heart and fully follows 
it, should have the hearty support of every 
one who professes the Christian religion. He 
will lead his flock into the depths of divine 
love by the ways of God ; and to such we extend 
the right hand of fellowship ; yea, we would, 
if need be, lay down our lives for his sake. 

Under the law every true leader or teacher 
had a call and a qualification, from which he 
realized his own inefficiency, and felt he was 
but a servant to do the Lord' s bidding. If any 
came to him for counsel he waited fcr the word 
of the Lord ; and every message was prefaced 
by "Thus saith the Lord." He had an under- 
standing of the law, and read and explained it 
to the people, who on failing to go up to Jeru- 
salem at the times appointed for this purpose 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DMKLE. 25 

were punished by drought for their disobedi- 
ence. 

Of the false prophets God said: " Woe unto 
them who follow their own spirit, and have 
seen nothing. They make you vain ; they 
speak a vision of their own heart and not out 
of the mouth of the Lord. They say ye shall 
have peace ; no evil shall befall thee, and make 
others to hope to confirm the words. They 
feed themselves and not the flock. They put 
no difference between the holy and profane, 
between the clean and the unclean. They 
teach for hire, and divine for money. I have 
not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have 
not spoken unto them, yet they prophesied. 
If they had caused my people to hear my 
words then they should have turned them from 
their evil ways. Seeing they have forgotten 
the law of God, yet say, the Lord is among us, 
I will also forget them." 

Christ sent his disciples with a special mes- 
sage to deliver before they were qualified to 
preach, which shows that any one who is right 
with God may be used as a message bearer ; 
but he commanded a tarrying in Jerusalem un- 
til endued with power, as an imperative requi- 
site to 'teaching the gospel, Paul was ordained 
a preacher and an apostle, a teacher to the 
Gentiles, was called by God's grace; the Son 
ivas revealed in him, and not even conferring 



26 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

with flesh and blood, he went immediately 
about his Master's business. 

The records show that wherever such men 
have moved there followed the work of two in- 
fluences : first, irresistible conviction and peni- 
tence and salvation to those who believed. 
Second, condemnation and persecution from 
those who believed not. There is no record 
that these teachers had or needed any other 
preparation for their work than that which 
God gave them ; and indeed, all other was 
deemed superfluous. Paul, the learned man 
brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, laid aside 
his intellectual attainments and " determined 
to know nothing among men but Christ and 
him crucified," said: "I came unto you not 
with excellency of speech or of wisdom. My 
preaching was not with enticing words of man's 
wisdom. I was even in weakness, fear, and 
trembling ; for if I preach with the wisdom of 
Avords, the cross of Christ is made of none 
effect." We also read that 4 ' God chooses the 
weak, the foolish, the base, and the /despised, 
through whom he works, that no flesh should 
glory in his presence." 

Christ, the great example, in his prayer said : 
4 4 1 have given them the words thou gavest me/' 
In his last instruction to his disciples he said; 
44 1 have chosen and ordained you to bring 
forth fruit. The Holy Ghost, which ye shall 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUJSTKLE. 27 

receive, shall teach you all things, and shall 
take of mine and shall shew it unto you." 

Here,, then, is the sacred call and the divine 
qualification of God's teachers, and we will 
proceed to examine the claim of those in the 
lesser Methodist churches to the distinguished 
position of preachers of the gospel. 

Although there are'great differences in these • 
bodies as to their attitude toward the gigantic 
evils in the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
in their administration of church government, 
and possibly of discipline, yet we assume there 
is no marked difference in the call and prepa- 
ration of their leaders for the ministry. We 
will take two examples as being sufficient to 
cover the ground over which all travel : one poor 
and illiterate, the other well to do and educated. 

A poor boy of twenty years tossed restlessly 
on his bed of straw, crying in the anguish of 
his spirit, " God be merciful to me a sinner." 
Days of mourning succeed nights of prayer, 
and at last light breaks in, joy fills his soul, 
and he rejoices in sins forgiven. He goes to 
the Thursday night prayer-meeting in the hum- 
ble meeting house, and with ready language 
confesses what God has done for his soul. God 
blesses him in his obedience, and his heart is 
filled with glory. So approved, he tells it again 
and again with continued approval. The Scrip- 
tures are his delight, and he could spend whole 



28 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

nights in prayer and praise. In the pulpit, the 
prayer-meeting, the Sunday school, and the 
social circle, 4 k work for Jesus' 1 is the theme. 
He thinks of this work, and wishes Jto dwell 
in the house of the Lord forever ; his new found 
joy adds to the desire, and he begins to talk 
about it, and looks around for a field of la- 
bor. He summons up courage and asks the 
preacher for counsel, or the preacher hints to 
him that he has a talent to be improved, and 
is invited to call at the humble parsonage. He 
is received in the study, a little room with bare 
walls and floor, and a table upon which are a 
few books, Bible commentaries, encyclopedias, 
grammar, and dictionary. The conversation 
turns upon the work of the ministry. "To 
labor for the salvation of souls is a glorious 
work, 5 ' said the preacher, 4 ' and one over which 
there should be much prayer. But to be ad- 
mitted to the conference you must become pro- 
ficient in the different branches of study pre- 
scribed by the rules. You will need books, 
which I would lend you if I could spare them, 
but my means will not allow me a larger col- 
lection, yet I preach as well as I can, God help- 
ing me." 

u And is this necessary to show sinners the 
way to repentance and forgiveness ? ' ' said the 
young man. "It is the universal custom," 
replied the preacher; " and no one could have 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DTHSTKLE. 29 

any influence or standing among the clergy 
without it." "But did not Jesus call the un- 
learned fishermen to this work? 55 urged the 
young man. ' ' The times have so much changed 
since then, and the people are so much more 
enlightened than those in that age that an ed- 
ucation is taught to be a necessity, 55 wa% the 
reply. 

The young man went home with conflicting 
emotions. With keen intellect and mind deep 
enough to comprehend all God reveals to mor- 
tals, he had passed his childhood and youth 
in sturdy toil, except a few months each year 
in the district school. Alone day after day in 
the field and woods, he had thought of God 
and death, and in the lonely winter evenings 
he had read of hell for the wicked, and the 
willingness of God to forgive sins. He repented, 
and became converted as we have seen ; his 
honest purpose was to obey the Lord and get 
to heaven ; and if this path lay in the way of 
an education,, it was what in his simplicity he 
had not thought of. He reads his Bible care- 
fully for days, still believing that to be the 
true guide, but can find no such command ; he 
reads it over again, and finds the Holy Ghost 
is the teacher Christ directed his disciples to. 
The feelings of his heart cry out against it as 
an idle waste of time and energy to acquire 
what God says he will destroy, as he says it is 



30 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



foolishness with him ; and the wisdom that is 
not from above is earthly, sensual, devilish. 
Yet here are all these preachers all over the 
world, who have labored so many years for the 
salvation of souls. Every winter they have a 
revival and many are added to the church, and 
they were all required first to become educated. 
He is confused and tormented between plain 
Bible truths and the prevailing usage. At last 
he dreams he was by a stream of water trying 
to catch some of the numerous fish sporting 
therein. He had a great pile of books by his 
side and he opened them one by one, and put 
them down into the water, but brought up 
nothing but grass, weeds and empty shells. 
He at last remembered that in the inner pocket 
of his coat he had a six-penny Testament, and 
trying with that, he caught one of the largest 
fish. He awoke in an ecstacy of delight, and 
decided to take the road marked out by the 
Bible. Time passed on with none to teach him 
how to keep in the right way, for "how can 
they hear without a preacher ? " His witness, 
like a tender blade, was choked out by noxious 
weeds, and he mourned its loss, but sought in 
vain by greater diligence in duty to regain it: 
"No wonder you have no enjoyment," says 
one; "God called you to preach and, Jonah 
like, you have fled from duty. " " The woe is 
upon you," said another, "because you did 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 31 

not heed the call to prepare for the ministry." 
Thus rebuked, he felt he must do something 
or be lost, and so buys the books and studies 
their contents in order to tell sinners their lost 
and undone condition, the hope of forgiveness 
in Christ and the promises of the gospel. For 
some time the truths he saw after his first call 
on the minister and his dream come to his mind, 
and he doubts whether, after all, this is G-od's 
way. Although he feels elated at the prospect 
of success in his undertaking, yet, in the secret 
depths of his own heart he knows this course 
does not bring back to him the abiding witness 
he once rejoiced in, and for the possession of 
which he still longs, but in vain. As the re- 
prover is unheeded, his visits grow less frequent 
and make less impression, until at last he is 
fully committed to the customs and regulations 
of the intellectual institutions, into which is 
sprinkled enough gospel to call them churches. 

In course of time he has mastered enough 
books to pass the required examination, and by 
the imposition of hands is duly ordained a 
minister of the gospel. He has a good sized 
library, and by his educational acquirements 
is entitled to a remunerative charge; so his 
room is carpeted, and pictures of John Wes- 
ley, Christ before Pilate and a landscape scene 
hang on the walls. 

He is preparing for his first sermon on -the 



32 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

charge, and desires to make a favorable impres- 
sion, (for the glory of God). He takes unusual 
pains. He kneels in prayer to Gfod for help 
and light; he sits at his desk and thinks of the 
scripture best adapted to the occasion, and re- 
volving it over and over in his mind, he calls 
upon the entire strength of his intellect to in- 
vestigate it. He divides it into parts, then 
subdivides it, and as the skeleton meets his 
mind he begins to fill it in, penning it down. 
The commentaries are at his elbow and he often 
takes down one volume and then another for 
consultation. Day after day he labors to cor- 
rect a little here and there, to add to or take 
from, until it is fully approved. He kneels 
again in thanks to God, though for what reason 
was not evident. He reads it again and again, 
that the ideas may be fixed in his mind, as he 
wishes to preach unaided by notes; yet he 
makes a brief of the different heads, simply as 
a reminder, and he must not forget that certain 
gestures are to be made at certain points. Af- 
ter selecting suitable hymns he reads it over 
carefully once more and starts for church. 

After the first hymn he prays connectedly 
and fervently for aid to preach the gospel to 
this dear people, that words may be put in his 
mouth and matter in his heart; (but as his ser- 
mon is in his memory, how can God answer 
unless he throws his week's labor away?) He 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



33 



prays that the Holy Ghost may take charge of 
his mind; (but how can He when his mind is 
already filled with what he intends to say ?) 
that the people may have a listening ear and 
an understanding heart; (the first of which they 
already have, and the last is unnecessary, as the 
sermon is wholly the production of the mind, 
and will reach the mind of thehearers 3 but can- 
not reach the heart;) and that the year just en- 
tered upon may be one of great prosperity in the 
ingathering of souls, which will probably be 
answered, and many may be added to the mem- 
bership of souls unchanged and as graceless as 
his own. 

The other example is one who had means and 
leisure to become educated. As the time dra ws 
near for a choice of the life occupation, he 
looks the subject over. He professes the Chris- 
tian name; indeed, has always been religious- 
ly inclined; has lived in and been educated un- 
der the religious influence of the day; has been 
imbued with the prevailing idea of good work for 
Jesus, so chooses to be a minister He goes to 
a theological school and graduates therefrom; 
is installed on the charge that has the largest 
membership and the greatest wealth. His 
rooms are elaborately furnished with tapestry 
and velvets, paintings and statuary; two sides 
of the room in which he is to pass the most of 
his time, from floor to ceiling, are packed with 



34 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

volumes, ancient and modern. Books religious 
and profane, of history and biography, logic 
and romance, are arranged in succeeding 
tiers. He begins the preparation for the ser- 
mon by prayer, not because he really feels the 
need of divine assistance, but it is the custom 
and the instruction. His researches are exten- 
sive, his mental deliberations conclusive. He 
calls to his aid the ancient Greek and Hebrew 
to clear up obscure points, and when his ser- 
mon is finished it is fit for the press, and would 
rank well with that of any prelate or D. D. 
He prays for divine aid for its delivery; he 
stands as a model of gracefulness; he speaks as 
a model of elocution; his delivery is faultless 
and every gesture is perfect. 

A part of the congregation are in raptures at 
being so intellectually fed, and decide to raise 
his salary; the other part are amazed at so 
much learning, but secretly wish there might 
have something been said to lighten their bur- 
dens, or show a way to ' 'flee from the wrath to 
come." The preacher, exalted and self-satis- 
fied with the effect produced, thanks God fer- 
vently for success. After a time he feels he 
must attack some of the evils in the church, 
which are daily on the increase; so he reads 
and comments on the Discipline. Not a mem- 
ber in the whole body even professes to live up 
to its requirements, though they each solemn- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE D TINKLE. 



35 



ly promised to do so; but to charge them with 
downright falsehood would give offense, and he 
only advises them kindly to do better in the 
future, without the least expectation of a 
change. 

We have shown the Scriptural view of both 
true and false teachers, under the old and new 
dispensations. 

We have shown the universal custom of the 
teachers of Methodism to-day, and to a great- 
er or less degree there is no exception. After 
teaching the "strait gate and narrow way," 
"the wide gate and broad way," the Savior 
said : "Beware of false prophets which come to 
you in sheep's clothing; but inwardly they are 
ravening wolves," which is a positive require- 
ment; and it thus becomes the duty of all who 
hear to decide whether it is the truth or error that 
is promulgated as gospel. All who teach a Chris - 
tian life that does not begin with the "strait 
gate," which implies a distinct, positive change, 
or a "way" wide enough to admit any as Chris- 
tians who do not live up to their baptismal vows 
and plain Bible truths, are false prophets. All 
teachers whose call and qualification have been 
here described climb up some other way than 
the door, and are thieves and robbers. Yet if 
you look north, south, east or west, will you 
find anything but this mixing up of truth and 
falsehood ? such an evasion of positive com- 



S6 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

mands ? or such a shutting of the eyes to the 
undeviating lines ? 

Human wisdom has so changed and twisted 
gospel precepts that nothing but an empty 
shell remains, and the whole Bible is made to 
imply but an advice to love (and the love of an 
unchanging heart at that,) and good works. 

If the sins in the Methodist Episcopal church 
were so great as to make it a duty to secede 
from her, how can there be any good remain- 
ing in her % Were there one person left who 
was led by the Holy Ghost, would he not cry 
aloud in condemnation of her crimes which 
reach to the very heavens % Would he not lift 
up his voice like a trumpet in denunciation of 
her complicity with the world and its institu- 
tions of wickedness % How long, then, think 
you, would he be allowed freedom of speech % 
Why, then, did you lesser bodies leave her? 
You extend to her the right hand of fellow- 
ship. You join in union meetings and Thanks- 
giving services. You exchange pulpits, or 
fellowship those among you who do so. You 
partake of the same communion. You bow at 
one common altar in prayer. You believe 
there are some real good Christians in her. 
What better are you than those you fellow- 
ship ? If the separation were duty, it was be- 
cause God's condemnation was on her. He 
does not mix the precious with the vile, if 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUJSTKLE. 37 

men do. He either condemns or approves. 
What he approves none have liberty to sepa- 
rate from ; what he condemns is condemned, 
and none have a possible right to receive. 

There is the same popular influence in the 
lesser Methodists that is so exalted in the 
Methodist Episcopal church. It is love, but 
no justice ; it is charity for sin as well as right- 
eousness ; it is profession without reality. 
There is the same pride and ambition, only in 
a less degree, because there is less means to 
carry it out. In fact, there is a total departure 
in all the Methodist churches from the Scrip- 
tural standard of vital religion. 

What, then, is the use of all these different 
efforts at reform ? One lops off one evil but re- 
tains the essence of the same spirit ; another 
lops off another evil and retains the same. But 
where is the man or woman, having been made 
free from sin, who stands as John Wesley on 
his death bed regretted he had not done: 
4 'Here am I and my Bible; all who join me 
here I fellowship." 

I am aware there are many who, with ex- 
planations and excuses, endeavor to dodge 
these sweeping affirmations, but the truth still 
stands that the different denominations of 
Methodists are but one soul in spirit and na- 
ture. Others will say: " This is harsh judg- 
ment," but still facts remain unchanged. 



38 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

The influence has become so strongly seated 
and overwhelming by this unison that the peo- 
ple are as blind to what they subscribe to as 
they were before the Reformation. Then, un- 
til Luther dared to raise his voice in thunder- 
tones against the prevailing superstition and 
idolatry, any doctrine or practice sanctioned 
by the Holy See was accepted as right. Now 
what is allowed and sanctioned in one of these 
bodies is connived at and tolerated either di- 
rectly or indirectly in the others; so that it is 
hardly thought necessary to know the particu- 
lar doctrines of any church, as it is universally 
taught u th ere are Christians in all." 

"Ye different sects, who all declare, 
Lo ! Christ is here ! or Christ is there ! 
You stronger proof s divinely give, 
And show me where the Christians live." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE, 



39 



CHAPTER III. 

CALVINISM. 

" Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not 
equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you 
every one after his ways." 

The doctrine of election and predestination 
held by Calvin and others of the reformers has 
been handed down to the present time in the 
Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist, and other 
churches. 

The principal effort of these men seemed to 
be, not the salvation of men by an inward ex- 
perience, but to expose and condemn the doc- 
trinal errors and abominable practices of the 
professed Christian church. 

Here and there false doctrine, like unright- 
eous leaven, had already begun to work before 
the apostles of Jesus fell martyrs to the hate 
of the idolatrous world ; and in each succeed- 
ing age the inward life and outward form of 
true religion gave place more and more to that 
monstrous superstitious structure of which the 
Popes became the head. 

Salvation by good works alone was carried 



40 extracts from: the sermons 

to such an extreme that the Bible, wherein 
faith is taught, was a hidden treasure ; which, 
when accidentally found, was the means of 
enlightenment, and revealed the Pope as anti- 
Christ and the entire Catholic body as Baby- 
lon the Great. 

These men, though fearless in the defense of 
their faith, had little or no knowledge of an 
inward testimony of sins forgiven ; and indeed, 
taught no more than a change of purpose ; and 
that justification by faith was a belief of the 
mind that did not change the heart ; so that 
Luther, when asked, if one could know he was 
saved, replied : " That is what none can posi- 
tively know" 

That certain souls were foreordained to be 
eternally saved and others lost, irrespective of 
individual responsibility, has been distinctly 
taught in the pulpits and schools of these sects 
since that age. 

Now, though their Articles of Faith require 
members to subscribe to these tenets, yet they 
are seldom mentioned ; but when necessary to 
preach the doctrine the ministers exchange 
pulpits to avoid the odium of its abomination. 
As the years have passed along, the nations, 
tired of torture and bloodshed over doctrinal 
points, have become more liberal in their views, 
and this doctrine has fewer advocates ; and so 
ashamed have many become of it that an effort 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 41 

has been made to expunge it from their creeds. 

The Scriptures upon which this faith was 
falsely founded is clearly understood by those 
who have the light of the Spirit. 

The predestinated, foreordained and elected 
of God before the foundation of the world is 
Christ; together with all those who became 
his through " sanctification of the Spirit, and 
belief of the truth." This work of sanctifica- 
tion depends wholly upon man's belief in 
and obedience to the truth; and not on a pre- 
arrangement, by which God established the 
soul in a fixed state, which man was unable to 
change. 

These views are clearly substantiated by 
numerous truths, and unravel the knotty 
question over which learned divines have la- 
bored and disputed, and the unlearned have 
mourned and stumbled for nearly three cen- 
turies; and which ascribes to the character of 
God a design so atrociously malevolent toward 
a part of the human family that it is one of the 
causes by which the world is fast being driven 
to the other extreme, — that of Universalism, 
which, though more reasonable and enticing, 
leaves God without an attribute of justice, and 
man with no responsibility. 

That part of this God-dishonoring doctrine, 
which holds to the final perseverance of saints, 
or, that if a soul has once known God's love it 



42 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

cannot be finally lost, has no foundation in 
Scripture ; but on the contrary, God says: 
" When I say to the righteous, he shall surely 
live; if he trusts to his own righteousness and 
committeth iniquity, all his righteousness shall 
not be remembered; but for his iniquity that 
he hath committed he shall die for it." And 
only "he that endureth to the end shall be 
saved." 

If we leave these truths unbent and unwrest- 
ed, we must admit the final separation of that 
soul from God who is disobedient and unfaith- 
ful. 

It would even have been better "not to have 
known the way of life, than to turn from the 
holy commandment delivered unto him." 

But what a feeling of peace and security this 
error gives to the soul; how easy to refuse the 
cross that opens the narrow way, and to evade 
self-denial that is required to walk therein, if, 
because once in grace, God cannot reject him 
at last. 

If only sure of being one of the elect, he 
might well rest on the universal plan and do as 
he lists. God assuming his responsibility, he 
need not fear to walk in the broad way and 
have his good things in this life; having once 
been a true disciple he cannot fail of being at 
last received into the courts of bliss. 

Ah, how many have been cradled to sleep 



OF THE LATE GE0BGE DUSTKLE. 43 



by this delusion. How many who have known 
the joys of pardoned sin, and perhaps a deep- 
er work of grace, who, though living in diso- 
bedience to known duty, without the undoubt- 
ed witness once enjoyed, have yet a feeling in 
the heart of security, and expect that some- 
time, perhaps in the last hours of life, God, 
who once loved them so well, will appear to 
claim them as his own and give them a seat in 
heaven; thus leaving the responsibility of their 
salvation on God, and shirking their own. 
How contrary this is to the truth which says: 
"If ye keep the whole law, and yet offend in 
one point, ye are guilty of all." "Be thou 
faithful unto death, and thou shalt receive a 
crown of life," and many others. 

God has made a provision for the salvation 
of the entire world, and kindly invites all to 
comply with its terms and partake of its bene- 
fits; thus freeing himself of all responsibility. 
He stands as in a fixed state, waiting for the 
faith and obedience of those whose only hope of 
escaping an endless hell is perfect compliance 
with its requirements. 

He who says, "I desire to be a Christian," as 
though it depended on God to make him such, 
has either a false view of truth or wishes an ex- 
cuse to refuse the cross; and while it is true that 
he alone can change the heart, yet he is always 
ready and has never failed to fulfill his prom- 



44 EXTRACTS FR03I THE SERMONS 

ises; yet according to his Word lie can receive 
only those who have fulfilled their part and 
come to him with a perfect offering. 

If to every unsaved soul in times of affliction 
or in the still hours of the night there comes a 
reprover to the heart or a convincer of a true 
and right way, the traditions of the fathers, 
the influence of the surroundings, and more 
than all, the teachings of those to whom it is 
supposed right to look, drown the still small 
voice and the warning is unheeded ; year after 
year this course is pursued, until the Spirit who 
has tried so long to induce a belief of the Word, 
can make no impression on the calloused heart 
and is grieved away ; the soul, now undisturbed, 
is perhaps at peace even to the last, and dies 
leaving no testimony behind of reconciliation 
to God, yet is followed as an example of Chris- 
tian piety. 

At the present day all the evidence a person 
need give of a Christian life, or a preparation 
to die, is, that he "trusts in Jesus," though 
every day of his life may have been passed in 
disobedience to plain truths; yet God, in his 
infinite mercy, is believed to have disregarded 
his Word enough to save them. 

What will the final result be of this course ? 
Though truth is thus openly perverted, will 
there not come a time of reckoning, when God 
will judge the world in righteousness \ When 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 45 

false teachers and blind followers will be 
weighed in an even balance ? When those who 
have Bibles in their houses and have not be- 
lieved nor obeyed them, who have sat in church 
pews and listened to a cry of "peace, peace," 
from a leader void of grace but filled with 
learning, shall be judged by the words of Holy 
Writ? When the rich and the poor, the 
learned and unlearned, the professing Christian 
and the infidel, shall stand before the last 
great, impartial tribunal ? 

There the code of laws by which all will be 
judged will be the Bible; all who have come 
up to what is therein required will be saved; 
and those who fall short will be found without 
the wedding garment, and will be cast out into 
outer darkness, where there is weeping and 
-wailing and gnashing of teeth. 



46 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER IV. 

SCRIPTURAL SALVATION. 

Justification. 

"Sin is the transgression of the law." 

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; 
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall 
have mercy." 

Amid this false religious teaching and its 
prevailing delusive influence, how is it possible 
for a soul to escape from the general corruption 
and find Scriptural salvation ? The Savior 
came upon earth to the professed people of 
God, but who had wickedly departed from his 
laws, statutes and judgment, and had set up in 
their place the traditions of the fathers and the 
commandments of men. Pride, ostentation and 
self-righteousness characterized the company 
of priests who ministered at the altar and 
expounded the law. " Truth was fallen in the 
streets and equity could not enter," showing 
that the moral condition was similar to that of 
the present time. 

When asked for help by the various persons 
who came to him, Jesus said: "Believest thou 
that I am able to do this?" and all that then 



OF THE LATE GEORGE D TINKLE. 47 

was and since has been done for the good of 
the soul has depended on its belief. 

The popular cry, "It matters not what a 
man believes, only so his heart is right," is a 
fatal error. A man is not responsible for the 
depraved state in which he finds himself by crea- 
tion, but his belief is the only means by which 
he can ever be changed. Only so far as this 
belief extends will the change continue, until a 
perfect faith brings about a perfect Christ-like 
character. 

He who does not believe in a future state of 
endless punishment for the wicked needs no 
Savior to save him from it. He who does not be- 
lieve he is wholly depraved needs no atone- 
ment to change him; and he who does not feel 
himself a sinner has no need of a crucified One 
to intercede for his forgiveness. But he who 
believes the Bible is an inspired book and the 
will of God to man, and who desires to be- 
come a Bible Christian, can become so in spite 
of false teaching, human rage or Satanic power. 

There is one truth entirely overlooked or ig- 
nored by the religious instruction of the day, 
which is: "JSTo man can come to me except the 
Father which hath sent me draw him," and to 
believe that a soul can seek the Lord at any 
time and find him is unscriptural. 

During the life of all mankind occasionally 
there is a deep feeling about the soul, and the 



48 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

mind dwells on death and eternity. He has a 
conviction that he is unprepared for these sol- 
emn events; he wishes in his secret heart he 
was a Christian, — not a professor, — but a gen- 
uine Christian; and he is conscious, for a time 
at least, of an unusual desire to escape hell and 
gain heaven. This desire is the drawing of the 
Father. 

The Spirit of truth has convinced of sin, of 
righteousness and of judgment. This is God's 
work, and no one can successfully seek the 
Lord unless at such times. How often and for 
how many years these drawings may be felt 
none but God knows. We can declare that 
God has said: "My Spirit shall not always 
strive with man." But none can tell when he 
may make his final visit to the heart. If this 
truth were believed and taught it would be a 
blessing to many a poor soul who, when he 
feels this unusual stirring within, says : " Go 
thy way for this time," and waits for a more 
convenient season that perhaps never comes. 

The soul who has this unusual desire has the 
power of will to decide, "Now I will become a 
Christian." If he does thus decide he will 
find a feeling of sorrow for having sinned be- 
gins to take the place of the hard, obdurate 
heart, and he will bitterly repent his wayward 
course. If he continue in his purpose he will 
confess his sins to God, and if he has wronged 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



49 



any one lie will confess it to them and make 
restitution as far as possible. His desire will 
increase until lie will feel like making a vow to 
do every known duty and live according to 
the Bible if God will only forgive him. At last 
his desire becomes so intense that he will pray 
with all his soul, smiting upon his breast: 
"God be merciful to me a sinner." After a 
time he may think of a promise; he begins to 
believe it; he waits, still believing, until the 
promise is verified. His burden rolls off, his 
heart is light, and he feels, not better, but 
right. He looks up to God and feels, yes, 
knows, by an inward witness that his sins, 
which were many, are all forgiven. Every 
breath is praise, praise to God and the Lamb. 
He thinks of death with joy, of the judgment 
without dread; and knows God owns and loves 
him as his child. He has a love he never knew 
before, and to which all unchanged souls are 
strangers, although they may claim to "love 
Jesus." 

Great as is this change, (and he feels as if in 
a new world,) it is but a small part of what the 
atonement provided for the soul; as although 
freely justified by faith he has not that "holi- 
ness, without which no man can see the Lord." 
But of this he is not aware, and he is wise if 
he does not concern himself about ' 'unlearned 
questions;" and as long as he is faithful he 



50 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

need have no uneasiness; God will lead him as 
fast as he is prepared to follow into all truth, 
which is the only true guide. 

His joys continue and Satan tempts him that 
he is deceived. He looks into the heart and up 
to God without an effort to deny the tempta- 
tion, and lo ! the witness grows brighter and he 
sings: 

" My God is reconciled, 

His pardoning voice I hear; 
He owns me for his child, 
I cannot longer fear." 

After a time trials severe come upon him 
and like clouds obscure the brightness of God's 
face; ignorant as he is of the way, and know- 
ing nothing of living by faith, he suffers se- 
verely, and Satan says: "You have lost it sure- 
ly now." He is almost ready to believe it is 
true, but holds on to his integrity a little long- 
er. Satan, hoping he has an advantage, con- 
tinues his suggestions until, stepping too far,* 
he reveals his cloven foot, when the soul rising 
in the strength of his new-found faith says: "I 
never will give up my shield." Satan leaves 
him for a season, and some truth on which he 
never had light before is shown him, upon 
which he feeds and wherein he rejoices, gain- 
ing strength thereby. Such an experience is 
many times multiplied as time passes along, 
and is a part of the Christian warfare, in which 
the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 51 

God, is an available weapon, and with which, 
the foes are all made to flee. 

How can he always retain the witness ? Not 
t>y going to work in the vineyard, as he knows 
nothing of the care of a vineyard, and would be 
as likely to cut off the fruit-bearing branches 
if there were any as the worthless ones; and 
really needs the care of an experienced laborer 
who would direct his mind to those truths which 
are applicable to his state, which he must have 
.a knowledge of if he retains the favor of God. 
If he knows of such a teacher he will be led to 
him for instruction. But such a leader is not 
to be found in any of the religious bodies of 
to-day, whose influence, being to destroy and 
devour, he should not mingle with; yet if he 
has an imperative duty among them he should 
do it faithfully, but he must keep wholly sepa- 
rate from their influence or he will find him- 
self in this truth: u Woe unto them that go 
down into Egypt for help; and stay on horses 
and trust in chariots because they are many, 
and in horsemen because they are very strong; 
but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, 
neither seek the Lord." 

It is in God's order to work through a leader 
of his own choosing and whom he has especial- 
ly qualified for such a work; and he who re- 
ceives his instruction in that way will make 
great proficiency in grace and obtain a knowl- 



52 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

edge of evil influences and Satanic devices in a 
much shorter space of time than if left to bat- 
tle alone and unassisted in that way; and in- 
deed, if he should continue faithful and retain 
his evidence of acceptance with God without 
such help, he is certainly a miracle of grace. Yet 
it is possible, as many Scriptural and other ex- 
amples show; and he is far better off alone with 
his Bible than under false instruction which 
will deceive and delude him. 

Faith and obedience will insure success. 
The Bible must be first, last and all the time, as 
a deviation from its known precepts is fatal to 
the inward life already begun, and a single eye, 
which implies but one object in view, will bring 
all needed light to guide the footsteps aright. 

Occasionally one truth will greatly impress 
the mind and must be especially heeded. It is 
the voice of God to his soul to warn of danger, 
to nourish and feed the spark of grace or to re- 
veal duty. If such truths are disregarded or 
let slip, it is disobedience; and soon a dearth 
comes over the soul, and he may not be aware 
of the cause, but he mourns the loss of his evi- 
dence. 

A faithful testimony to the World is a posi- 
tive requirement of all the work of grace; and 
a separation from every wrong influence is im- 
perative, and also a testimony against it. If 
this separation is broken, the right has yielded 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 53 



to the wrong, God is grieved and the soul is 
fallen from grace. 

Every known duty to God, to himself and to 
the world must be faithfully done, and as fast 
as light is given on the Word it must be heed- 
ed and walked in. 

There is one point I feel it a special duty to 
make positive, and no language nor repetition 
can make it too impressive; and that is the ne- 
cessity of retaining the witness, or of regaining 
it if it be lost. 

There are a few Bible examples of those who, 
as far as recorded, never lost it: as Joseph, 
Daniel and Paul; and of many who lost it and 
then regained it : as David, Jeremiah and Peter. 

The churches are silent on this point; as so 
long as there is no outbreaking sin and the 
profession is kept up, all is assumed to be 
right. The greater number of those who sin- 
cerely seek for holiness have lost their witness 
and know not what is the trouble, yet feel so 
unsaved that for lack of knowledge they seek 
for what they can never find unless they retain 
the witness once enjoyed. 

Disobedience to duty, yielding to any wrong 
influence, to countenance it or become one with 
it, or disbelief of any truth will rob the soul of 
this priceless treasure. Temptations and trials, 
which make up a goodly share of the narrow 
way, may dim the brightness of this witness 



54 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

for a time, but it will then appear the brighter. 
Impressions of duty and increased light on 
truth, both with reference to the outward and 
inward life, will be given if the witness is re- 
tained, as grace in the heart is an active prin- 
ciple. 

Satan can also suggest duties to the mind, and 
it must "all the powers engage" to keep on the 
right line, which can be done with a single eye. 
He can also quote truth when it answers his 
purpose better, as he did to the Savior ; but if 
the soul looks to Grod steadfastly and waits, 
he will after a time see that they are always 
misapplied. If he allows himself to become 
at all careless, and ceases to watch and pray 
with a single eye, Satan, ever on the alert, 
will deceive him in some way, and soon he will 
find there is something gone. He may rejoice 
in the evidence he once had, and by an effort 
of faith believe he is blest; but he must stretch 
his imagination to be satisfied, which he can- 
not be long if he is honest with himself. He 
may go on in a way that lies nearly parallel 
with the right one, but it diverges, and it will 
not be long before he will cease to be so strict, 
smooth it over, turn his mind away from it and 
so pass it by; duty, too, can be neglected and 
cause but little uneasiness. But there is an 
aching void within, and he must look back to 
find a time when he knew all was right be- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUJSTKLE. 



55 



tween God and his soul. The trouble is, he is 
a backslider; he has left his first love; he is 
fallen; and unless he succeeds in getting re- 
stored to the evidence again, he is forever a 
lost soul. He may become able to "speak with 
the tongues of men and angels, may have all 
knowledge and understand all mysteries, may 
have faith to remove mountains," and do many 
wonderful works, yet he has lost the love of 
God, and is as sounding brass or a tinkling 
symbal. This witness is the only tie that 
bound him to God who will claim nothing else 
as his own. It is all that prepares him to die 
and fits him for the judgment. Having lost 
it, he is of no value or use to God in time or in 
eternity ; and is as salt having lost its saltness, 
— good for no purpose. There are very few 
who succeed in obtaining this witness who re- 
tain it, or regain it after having lost it. Yet 
see the folly and dishonesty of souls who, after 
becoming aware that they do not enjoy what 
they once did, yet continue to profess to love 
God and "trust in Jesus." As well might a 
man whose farm is sold to another still profess 
the same claim to the old homestead; or one 
whose boat is sunk in mid-ocean profess safe- 
ty and hope of swimming to shore. The only 
sure thing is gone, and unless it is regained loss 
of the soul is inevitable. 

What can he do to regain the witness ? 



56 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Neither a life of good works, penance, nor a 
martyr' s death will appease the wrath of an of- 
fended God who, though he commanded, u sin 
not," yet said: "If any man sin he has an. ad- 
vocate with the Father." He also says: "O 
Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me 
is thy help." 

His first duty is to himself in admitting his 
fallen state; which implies that he no longer 
claims the joy, peace or love of God, nor any 
of his favor ; that he has no blessing from him 
only that enjoyed by the just and the unjust 
alike, and that this is in consequence of his 
own disobedience. This step is all important, 
as to now claim anything belonging to the wit- 
ness is delusion. 

His next duty is a confession of his true fall- 
en condition; and as public as has been his 
disobedience and fall so public must the con- 
fession be. But secret sins need be confessed 
to God only; and indeed, it is very unwise to 
give publicity to that which is known to and 
injures no one but the soul and God. If neces- 
sary then this confession must be to an individ- 
ual or the world, and then to God; and as his 
lost condition is a source of grief and humilia- 
tion, he must come with the spirit of the prodigal 
son, — "Father, I have sinned against heaven 
and before thee, and am no more worthy to be 
called thy son; make me as one of thy hired 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DIWKLE. 57 

servants," which must be not words only, but 
the deep feeling of the heart. 

The broken covenant of obedience must now 
be renewed with an addition. Some weakness 
caused the fall, and the addition must be a de- 
termination enough greater to make that weak 
point impregnable in future. God will ratify 
it if it is perfect; but remember he will not re- 
ceive a lame offering; and nothing but a prom- 
ise of perfect obedience in all things will be ac- 
cepted. He has now done what alone gives 
him grounds for faith in God's promises; and 
although he may feel as though his case were 
almost hopeless, yet he must not yield to the 
unbelief Satan suggests to his mind, nor to the 
lethargic influence of despair he would fain 
throw around him. Arise in the strength of 
your vow, lay hold of a promise, and never let 
go until it is fulfilled in you, and you again 
find your reconciled heavenly Father through 
Christ Jesus our Lord. 

All through the Scriptures are held out invi- 
tations and promises to such as have fallen 
from grace. "Return unto me, for thou hast 
fallen by thine iniquity. I will heal thy back- 
slidings; I will love you freely." "The Son 
of man is come to save that which is lost." 
"If a man have a hundred sheep and one of 
them be gone astray, doth he not leave the 
ninety and nine and goeth into the mountains 



58 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

and seeketh that which is gone astray \ And if 
so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he 
rejoices more of that sheep than the ninety and 
nine which went not astray." 

When the witness is regained, which it will 
be if this course is pursued, the same satisfac- 
tion is felt that was once realized, (and none 
should stop short of it). The work of the 
Spirit in giving light, strength and duty will 
again be commenced in the heart, and will be 
carried on until all the trials incident to this 
spiritual condition is endured, all the special 
duties done and all the truths relating to the 
first state of grace have been seen, believed, re- 
alized and enjoyed, and the soul has become 
established in them. 

" We who in Christ believe 

That he for us hath died, 
We all his unknown peace receive, 

And feel his blood applied. 
Exults our rising soul, 

Disburthen'd of her load, 
And swells unutterably full 

Of glory and of God." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



59^ 



CHAPTER V. 

SCRIPTURAL SALVATION CONTINUED. 

A Deeper Work of Grace. 

1 ' Then shall we know if we follow on ta 
know the Lord." 

In studying any branch of science, when it 
is thoroughly understood, though its princi- 
ples are right and its propositions conclusive, 
its continued study becomes stale and uninter- 
esting, and the mind, though not discarding its 
teachings, reaches out for something new to 
investigate. 

The native element of the soul is Deity, and 
it cannot long remain satisfied in any state un- 
til it reaches that great fountain of all good, 
by the changes necessary to remove the awful 
depravity which separates it from its Creator. 
The faithful soul who has so long rejoiced in 
sins forgiven, now begins to find that the truths 
he has drawn so much satisfaction from and is 
established in no longer afford him the interest 
and joy they formerly did. 

Satan, who rather he would do anything else 
than see the true cause of this, suggests many 



60 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

things to Ms mind : ' 1 You have neglected 
duty." "You have lost your evidence of 
God's favor." "You are not strict enough in 
obedience." "God has forsaken you," etc. 

He may examine each of these assertions 
carefully and prayerfully, but will find them 
false. 

He is conscious of living up to all the light 
he has seen, and feels the tie between God and 
his soul is unbroken; but yet he is unsatisfied 
and uneasy. His life is irreproachable, but the 
trouble is within. He has many times been 
troubled by the sinful feelings of his heart; 
but calling it temptation he has resisted it, and 
finding he still had the witness of God's love, 
has passed it along until now he has come to a 
standstill; his mind is greatly disturbed. He 
can find no satisfaction in anything he has ever 
known of grace, and if he should go to one of 
God's leaders for instruction he would be told: 
"You have conviction for an advancement in 
grace." 

Many truths referring to an inward purity or 
righteousness are mysterious. He really knows 
nothing of his natural condition, but begins to 
desire a deeper work of grace, not knowing 
what else to call it. A new class of truths 
meets his eyes as he reads the sacred page, but 
he knows nothing of their import, and feeling 
that they will judge him in the final day, he 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 61 

begins to desire a knowledge of their meaning 
to escape their condemnation. He knows not 
what to do, but turns to the Word for help. 
He there sees faith and obedience are all the 
requirements of salvation, and he begins to be- 
lieve these new truths, holding himself in read- 
iness to obey all known duties. Promises of 
the fulfillment of these truths by faith, to the 
obedient ones, meet his eyes or come to his 
mind and seem fastened there. An effort is 
begotten in the heart by an unseen influence, 
and as he unites his faith to it the desire and 
determination to realize their fulfillment in- 
creases, the faith grows stronger and he feels 
sure he is on the right track. 

All hell is enraged and everything under 
Satan's control is alive to hinder and prevent 
his reaching the point. Persecutions that have 
been cropping out here and there since his con- 
version, now become more open and malicious, 
but he knows to go back is to die, and he caa 
but perish if he goes on; so he continues to 
hold on to the promises. 

Week after week may go by, and month 
may succeed to month; for although it takes 
God but a moment to speak the life-giving 
word, yet the soul is not ready to receive it. 
If it cost months of weary struggling it will be 
more highly appreciated; and if in all the pain 
and affliction of this strife after it he remains 



62 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

faithful, he will be more the careful to retain it. 

As John the Baptist came to prepare the 
way of the Savior ? so must the way of any 
work of grace implying a change be prepared 
for trial and suffering, humiliation and faith. 

He now holds the promise with an unyield- 
ing grasp and cries: 

" Jesus, 1 hang upon thy word, 

I steadfastly believe, 
The inward change thy word implies, 
I'm waiting to receive." 

Sometime, perhaps when he is least looking 
for it, his effort ceases, and he cannot possibly 
pray as he has done e Again he may wonder 
where his faith has gone, but he need not fear; 
let him but look within, when lo ! faith is lost in 
sight, and an indescribable joy and glory fills 
his heart; not demonstrative perhaps, but is 
none the less real, and he has found the desire 
of his heart. He may have no name for it, but 
the new truth which now lives in his heart 
and which he knows as well as those referring 
to pardoned sin, tells him of a purity and pow- 
er, an inward righteousness and a more definite 
witness than he ever knew before. 

The Holy Ghost of whom the disciples at 
Ephesus had not heard, and of whom he had 
heard, but had not received, now is an abiding 
guest in his heart ; and opens the Scriptures to 
his view, wherein he sees things wonderful both 
within and without. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE\ 63 

Without he sees the moral condition of his 
surroundings ; the false teaching and unscrip- 
tural course of the churches ; the growing infi- 
delity to which this religious unfaithfulness is 
tending; vice unrestrained because there is no 
Scriptural restraint taught, and the whole 
world loosely pursuing its own way unchecked 
by this excessive unscriptural charity. 

The separation, begun at conversion, and 
which it required such an effort to maintain, 
now grows wider as ''light which makes man- 
ifest" commands the laying aside of many 
things hitherto believed to be harmless. He 
sees the narrow way growing still narrower and 
also ascending, still requiring effort. He feels 
a power that could tread on scorpions and fears 
not man whose breath is in his nostrils. The 
witness of acceptance with G-od is clearer, more 
positive and easily dimmed by temptations 
and trials. 

Satan's devices are of a different nature ; and 
there is no point upon which he works more 
successfully than by sympathy, which seeks 
by every artifice to break down the barrier 
made by grace. Christ said: c £ Suppose ye that 
I am come to give peace on earth ? I tell you 
nay; but rather division, for from henceforth 
there shall be five in one house divided; three 
against two and two against three. The father 
against the son and the mother against the 
daughter." 



64 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Wherever grace lives in the heart this divis- 
ion exists between him who has it and those 
who have it not. If this be the case in the 
family, the feelings of those without grace are 
wounded by this division, and Satan makes a 
most powerful use of this to draw the saved 
soul into a union of feeling with the unsaved; 
and if successful the result is most satisfactory 
to the unsaved and to Satan; but it is spiritual 
death to the saved soul, and grieves the Lord 
who said: " He that loveth father or mother, 
son or daughter more than me, is not worthy 
of me." 

If this separation is maintained it will be 
the means of conviction to those who so ignor- 
antly strive to destroy it. If this conviction is 
heeded it will bring grace to their hearts also, 
and then the union will be in Christian love. 

This division does not interfere with any 
lawful obligation, nor does it prohibit compli- 
ance with any proper request. 

If the conviction produced by maintaining 
the upright position is resisted, and all the 
efforts prove unavailing to draw the right to 
the wrong, it produces bitterness in the un- 
saved heart and a spirit of persecution which 
in time will be openly shown, which will be 
joined by others of a like spirit, who will pro- 
ceed by reproaches and slander as far as God 
will allow for the good of the soul and his own 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 65 

glory. He now begins to know why he was re- 
quired to "count the cost" before entering 
upon a Christian life. Even now if he thinks 
a heaven of the unalloyed joys he has already 
tasted will not repay the price of all he can 
give or suffer, he better stop here and turn 
back into the world, as the way will continue 
to grow narrower and the opposition greater as 
he advances. If he refuses the cross now he 
will find many on earth whom he will be in fel- 
lowship with ; but they are a very unhappy 
company and death will soon overtake them, 
where they will find that they sold their birth- 
right for the sake of peace at the sacrifice of 
immortal joys, and as we go through life but 
once it will be too late to make any change. 

All this trial has been for the good of the 
soul and this opposition to increase its strength. 
God' s people are tried in the furnace of afflic- 
tion, which shows how much they can and will 
endure. He has said : " I will not suffer you 
to be tempted above that ye are able to bear." 
With this assurance all that comes upon the 
soul can be endured, and if in the severest 
affliction there is a giving away or yielding it 
shows alack of committal, and it would be use- 
less to give more grace to squander in the same 
way. 

If the soul is faithful in all his duties, en- 
dures all the trials and resists all the tempta- 



66 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

tion incident to the state he has enjoyed, has 
been led into all the truths relating to it, and 
has become established in them so that nothing 
can move him from them, he is prepared to see 
things within as revealed by a greater knowl- 
edge of truth, things at which many of the 
professed world will sneer and totally reject ; 
but as they are in the revealed will of God, and 
have been substantiated by witnesses, no soul 
who desires to know the length and breadth, 
depth and height of divine love will make issue 
with them. 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 



67 



CHAPTER VI. 

SCKIPTUBAL SALVATION CONTINUED. 

Holiness. 

u That ye put off the old man, which is Cor- 
rupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be 
renewed in the spirit of your mind ; and that 
ye put on the new man, which after God is 
created in righteousness and true holiness.*' 

The state of grace described in the preced- 
ing chapter is called, by almost universal con- 
sent, "Holiness." We have called it by no 
special name, but have explained its nature 
and extent, to the time of becoming established 
in it, by scriptures and by experience ; but now 
we will call it a "pure heart," because of the 
latter part of the truth: u Blessed are the 
pure in heart, for they shall see God." Very 
few of those who attain to this state retain the 
witness of it long enough to realize what I am 
about to describe. The influence of the world 
by its snares, the influence of friends by their 
enticements, and worse than all, the influence 
of the churches, although perhaps many among 
them profess the same with their "love for 



68 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Jesus," without keeping Ms words, and mani- 
fold "good works," are destructive to this ten- 
der plant of divine grace that needs the best 
Scriptural care to keep it alive. The far great- 
er number who once enjoyed it are drawn into 
one or the other of these influences and become 
so deluded as to be beyond the reach of truth. 
This accounts for so little ever having been 
known of any inward change beyond a pure 
heart. 

The true feelings and condition of the soul 
that has been faithful for any great length of 
time in this state is generally covered up for 
two reasons : first, the soul has professed holi- 
ness, or to have been made free from sin, and 
consequently that no evil thoughts or desires 
emanate from the heart ; and to confess having 
these, as they plainly see, denies the former 
profession. This profession having been sin- 
cerely made from a living witness within, of a 
change much greater than at conversion, and 
never having heard of any other change, they 
are honestly in a great mystery. Second, to 
confess the real feelings of the heart, which 
they at first call temptation, and may for a time 
keep under by force of will but cannot change, 
is a humiliation many would shrink at because 
of the reflection it would bring on their sincer- 
ity, and also the false light in which (as Satan 
tempts them) it would place the nature of the 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DLTNKLE. 69 



blessing enjoyed and professed. So, first, for 
lack of knowledge, and at last for lack of hon- 
esty, there is scarcely one to be found who will 
confess that they ever find any sin in the heart 
after the second change, a pure heart, is real- 
ized ; and here lies the great difference between 
Scriptural salvation, as here defined, and the 
early Methodists, who scarcely taught the 
second change definitely, or as obligatory, and 
there is no record that they had any light be- 
yond it. 

We prove by Scripture, by experience, and 
by present living witnesses, a third change, 
before the total depravity of the human heart 
is removed and the soul enters into that " holi- 
ness without which no man shall see the Lord." 

In the myriads of books recording the reli- 
gious experience of those renowned for piety, 
not one of which we have any knowledge, save 
that of Madam Guyon, and a few other early 
writers, clearly describe this change, which we 
will proceed to explain. 

This soul who is established in a pure heart 
has had many feelings that did not harmonize 
with what he believed to be right and holy, 
yet, as they were transient, no particular ac- 
count was made of them unless to attribute 
them to Satan ; but he has yet, according to 
the truth, to " see God," not in the future state 
of existence, but now. 



70 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

The trials of life begin to develop what he 
could not otherwise have been made to believe 
existed. Sudden provocations cause a feeling 
of anger, which is as suddenly regretted, but 
which will continue to recur in spite of more 
constant prayer and watchfulness. Continued 
annoyance causes impatience, and many hasty 
words are spoken, to be recalled and mourned; 
and notwithstanding every possible effort, it 
will frequently be repeated with much less rea- 
son than at first. 

Association will bring to light a pride which, 
in attire, house-furnishing, equipage or social 
intercourse, desires what neither the Savior 
and his apostles nor the conscience approves, 
and it is resisted as of the evil one, yet other 
provocations frequently bring it to light again. 
Many other feelings and desires known to be 
unholy come up from the very depth of the 
heart and are repressed with indignation at 
their existence, but yet they are still in exist- 
ence. 

The soul suffers intensely over these things, 
which he earnestly wishes were not so, as his 
greatest desire is to be right and do right ; but 
here is something stronger than his will, and 
the grace that hitherto has been his help against 
all temptation and sufficient in every trial is 
insufficient to change this sad condition. Many 
times he is on the point of casting away his 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 71 

confidence, and deciding that lie is fallen from 
grace into sin; but no, lie feels the tie between 
God and his heart still unbroken, and occa- 
sionally the Son of Righteousness shines into 
his soul, giving him an undoubted evidence of 
God's favor. He has kept his covenant of 
obedience, and desires and is determined to 
continue on in the Christian course, but knows 
not what to think or what to do. But if he 
only knew it was but the beginning of the ful- 
fillment of the truth, (the former part of which 
he has so enjoyed,) u Blessed are the pure in 
heart," he would see it is but the blessing con- 
tinued; he begins to " see God" by first see- 
ing himself. 

He sees the Savior, the humility of his birth 
in the manger, though possessor of the gold and 
silver of the world ; of his meekness as a feet- 
washing servant though King of kings; of his 
simplicity in doing only the will of his Father ; 
of his patience under continued and malicious- 
ly false accusations, and of his willing submis- 
sion to suffer what no mortal ever endured. 

He sees man created in the image of God, 
without a stain upon him, a spiritual nature as 
pure as the angels, and an ear ever ready to 
hear the voice of God, fallen by transgression 
until every feeling of that once God-like part of 
his existence is evil and only evil continually. 

He sees the infant, the most innocent of all 



72 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

that is left of the original purity, with but a 
few months of natural existence, entirely de- 
pendent, without responsibility, incapable of 
committing sin and uninfluenced by contact 
with wrong, yet showing plainly a nature re- 
bellious against authority and filled with rage 
if opposed in its wishes. Year after year the 
same nature is felt and seen. Some are taught 
to bring it in subjection from childhood ; others 
by education and refinement so govern it as to 
be amiable in disposition and blameless in 
their lives, if not too far pressed by opposition; 
others, giving loose rein to its dictates, show 
every grade and depth of vice and wickedness. 
On every feature is stamped its impress and in 
every act it reveals its unlike ness to its Creator ; 
and not a soul in all the ages of the world, 
from Adam unto the end of time, has been or 
will be born without the same depraved nature. 

This is the tree at whose root John the Bap- 
tist said, u Now the axe is laid;" and is not 
sins committed, but the nature of man inherited 
by Adam' s fall, and is thus described : 4 4 From 
the sole of the foot even unto the head there is 
no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and 
putrefying sores. They have not been closed, 
neither bound up, neither molified with oint- 
ment." 

Committed sins are but the fruit growing on 
this tree, and as none are born without it, so 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUjN'KLE. 



73 



none can truthfully say, u I have not sinned," 
for 1 6 all have sinned and come short of the 
glory of G-od." 

At conversion these sins are all freely and 
fully forgiven, but the soul in that state has no 
knowledge of depravity nor any light of Scrip- 
ture by the Holy Ghost on the great design of 
the atonement, as we have already seen. When 
he has realized a far greater change than con- 
version, and has become established in it, he 
now for the first time sees the cause of these 
sinful feelings and desires that have so troubled 
him. 

He now also sees why the Savior suffered and 
died ; not to forgive sins only, but to destroy 
this sinful nature entailed upon the human 
family by Adam's transgression, "For as in 
Adam all die, so even in Christ shall all be 
made alive." 

This doctrine is viewed differently by differ- 
ent theologians. One denies it entirely, claim- 
ing none are born with it ; another that some 
are born without it ; others that the depravity 
is but in part ; and still others that the restor- 
ation in Christ is but in part, or that none can 
attain the perfection of Adam' s spiritual image 
in this life. This soul, whose state we have 
been portraying, does not concern himself about 
this or that belief, but greatly desires to know 
what the atonement has provided to prepare 



74 EXTRACTS FR03I THE SERMONS 



the soul for a heaven where no sin is found, so> 
goes to the Word for light. Here he finds in- 
numerable proofs of this condition of man by 
nature; he also sees that 4 'for this very pur- 
pose was the Son of God manifest that he 
might destroy the works of the devil." Is 
there anything Satan has ever done since the 
creation, or all that he has done beside, com- 
bined, that can compare with that fatal fall in 
Eden, the effects of which will remain through 
time and among the lost to all eternity % 

This nature, then, is the main work of the 
devil that Christ was manifest to destroy. Light 
greater and more distinct breaks in upon this 
soul, and he having been made pure in heart 
by the second change sees God, his character, 
his purity, and his claims in contrast with his 
nature, which, although he has governed, con- 
trolled and mostly kept in subjection, still is 
the same sinful, serpentine nature, ready at 
every turn to break out into transgressions of 
the law. Well did the Savior say : Cfc Ye ser- 
pents, ye generation of vipers." Truthfully 
did Paul say : u I am carnal, sold under sin." 
" And what the law could not do, in that it was 
weak through the flesh, God sending his own 
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, 
condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous- 
ness of the law might be fulfilled in us who 
walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 75 

So after maintaining his integrity through the 
great afflictions and trials, the false accusa- 
tions of his pretended friends and the taunts of 
those who had him daily in derision, did J ob, 
now that his eyes were opened, say unto the 
Lord : "I have heard of thee by the hearing 
of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee ; where- 
fore I abhor myself." How did he see God 
unless by his holiness in contrast with his own 
sinful nature? No wonder he exclaims, "I 
abhor myself." 

Isaiah was another witness to the same change 
when the live coal touched his lips ; and by in- 
ference and comparison the Scriptures are full 
of explanation and instruction on this point. 

Notwithstanding this is a new doctrine, this 
soul, convinced by his own feelings that he still 
has in possession an evil nature that he cannot 
change by prayer and watchfulness, or the will, 
decides to seek its separation from the heart, or 
a death to it, which implies the same thing. As 
this is increased light he adds to his covenant 
a determination to seek until he finds, and also 
to walk in the light of it when received. 

As he now reads the sacred page truths of a 
different nature, and implying a different 
change than any of which he has had any 
knowledge, meet his eye and are impressed on 
his mind. He sees the highway cast up for the 
redeemed of the Lord to walk in, with no un- 



76 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

cleanness in it ; lie sees the uncleanness within 
and many things still without, not allowed in 
that path, and in order to prepare the way for 
the great work of God and to be a co-worker 
with him, he takes a decided stand against 
everything this new light condemns, and sep- 
arates himself from all that it requires. 

Connected with the conviction is a keen suf- 
fering of spirit unknown before, and an effort 
is commenced in the heart, aided by the Holy 
Spirit, that should never cease until the convic- 
tion is lost in a realization of what it implied. 
Truth sustains and guides him ; the light con- 
tinues to increase and makes manifest crosses, 
self-denial and death to all that it condemns. 
Ah, many falter when they see that the offend- 
ing eye must be plucked out and the offending 
hand cut off, and that the Word pierces to the 
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, the joints 
and marrow, but all must go or the sacrifice is 
not conftplete. 

If the obedience has been perfect so far, 
promises will be given upon which to rest his 
faith, which he will continue to believe and 
plead until the change comes, how none can 
tell, as no two receive it in precisely the same 
way ; but it will be plain and definite enough 
to be perfectly satisfactory to him who feels it. 

Greater and better understood than any pre- 
vious change is this, from a sinful nature to a 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 77 

holy one. He knows what it is to be redeemed, 
"not with silver and gold, but with the blood 
of Jesus." He is no longer under the law, 
which was his school- master to bring him to 
Christ, but under grace. The old man is cru- 
cified, the body of sin destroyed, and beipg 
buried by baptism into his death he walks in 
newness of life. But time would fail me to 
tell of the many glorious truths he finds him- 
self in. 

The two previous changes, great and satis- 
factory as they were, but prepared him for this 
greater one, which as far eclipses them as the 
sun does the stars in its meridian splendor. 
Indeed, he lives in the truth and the truth 
lives in him, and his power is the life of truth. 

No power could make him doubt its validity, 
and the wise man may say: 6 ' How could you have 
had a pure heart before and yet the evil nature 
at the same time?" He will smile inwardly 
and say ; 4 ' We speak that we do know and tes- 
tify that we have seen, and ye receive not our 
witness." " It is unreasonable," says the wise 
man. " He has hid these things from the wise 
and prudent and hast revealed them unto 
babes," says this new creature in Christ Jesus. 
4 6 It is unorthodox," the wise man urges. 6 c You 
have forsaken the fountain of living waters 
and hewn you out cisterns, broken cisterns 
that can hold no water," says this soul who 



78 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

knows whereof he speaks. " You deserve to 
be wholly condemned and rejected," closes the 
wiseman. "Who shall lay anything to the 
charge of God' s elect ? It is God that justifieth. 
Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that 
died for this very purpose," replies he who has 
been made free from sin. "The natural man 
receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for 
they are foolishness unto him, neither can he 
know them because they are spiritually dis- 
cerned," meditates this happy soul who has 
become wise unto salvation, and he sings: 

"Now I have found the ground wherein 
Sure my soul's anchor may remain/ ' 

As far as the soul is concerned he now has 
Scriptural salvation from sin, and nothing un- 
holy can emanate from the heart, which should 
be "kept with all diligence, for out of it are 
the issues of life," It will not keep itself 
right like an inanimate piece of clay or ma- 
chinery, but the same vigilance used in gaining 
it is required to keep it. 

Satan was never so enraged. Not content 
with putting all the obstacles possible in the 
way to prevent its attainment, his greater effort 
now is to use some means to destroy it. Into 
the garden of Eden he found his way, and by 
his seduction robbed the holy pair of this di- 
vine image. To the Savior of men also he ap- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



79 



plied his arts by three powerful enticements^ 
but failed in his effort. All through the ages 
lie has labored; and every soul redeemed from 
the fall he has engaged all hell, and every un- 
saved soul against, to endeavor to bring him 
back into his kingdom. 

He is never out of danger from this source, 
and his only sure protection is in faith and 
obedience to truth. Now it is more necessary 
to heed the Savior's command : " What I say 
unto one I say unto all, watch and pray lest ye 
enter into temptation." 

The division between him and the world is 
greatly increased, and the rage of the opposers 
knows no bounds, only what are established 
by law. The days of persecution are not passed 
for this soul. His heart, his spirit, his life 
and his words are a testimony against all un- 
godliness and unrighteousness of men, and they 
hate him accordingly. Even those he tries the 
hardest to please are the most virulent in their 
opposition to him, and no matter what he 
does (unless to disobey), a wrong motive is at- 
tached to it and he is condemned. 

The Savior said: " Many good works have 
I showed you from my Father ; for which of 
these works do ye stone me V ' 

So with this soul; although the blameless life 
and harmlessness of conduct is admitted, the 
unresisting spirit with which all opposition is 



80 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

received, and although no Scripture properly 
applied can condemn him, yet he has another 
spirit and, does not walk in the traditions of 
the fathers, and so is marked for persecution, 
by which the evil one says : " Perad venture he 
maybe enticed." 

He has entered into the rest of faith, and is a 
chosen one of God through sanctification of 
the spirit and belief of the truth; and yet is 
believed to be in great delusion by those time- 
serving professors who know nothing of the in- 
ward workings of faith, who sit in fierce judg- 
ment upon every influence not of its own mak- 
ing or nature. 

Amid it all his joy and confidence is contin- 
ually augmented by the truth in which he 
moves, and he says with David : " How love I 
thy law. It is my meditation all the day. 
How sweet are thy words unto me, yea, sweet- 
er than honey to my mouth. Depart from me 
ye evil doers, for I will keep the command- 
ments of the Lord." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 81 



CHAPTER VII. 

SCRIPTURAL SALVATION CONTINUED. 

Perfection. 

" Wherefore he is able also to save them to 
the uttermost that come unto Grod by him, see- 
ing he ever liveth to make intercession for 
them." 

This soul now delivered from the root of sin 
vainly supposes there is nothing about him but 
what is in sweet accord with Deity, and pur- 
sues his way joyfully, until he in some way is 
stopped in his onward progress. 

What is the trouble now % Has he not been 
made free from a sinful nature % Has he not 
continued faithful to grace % O, yes ! but there 
is something further to be realized. Do not 
start in such amazement and look as though 
afraid of error, it will all be made clear and 
plain by Scripture and experience. 

According to the nature of the mind it is not 
reasonable to suppose that Adam in all his 
purity and innocence would have made no ad- 
vancement in knowledge and grace if he had 
remained obedient to God ; neither is it reason- 
able to suppose that a soul who has been deliv- 



82 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

ered from the sinful nature is to make no more 
advancement, even if there were no wrongs to 
be regulated. 

No further inward change is necessary and 
nothing sinful can come from within ; but there 
is really much polishing yet to be done to be- 
come divested of every hindrance to the perfect 
reign of God in the soul. 

This perfection in holiness is attainable in 
this life, and is desirable and necessary to 
bring the soul in such perfect union and one- 
ness with the Savior that the Father can have 
his own way with it without any obstruction. 
He is now in a condition to receive the chas- 
tisements of the Lord, showing he is a legiti- 
mate child. As long as he retained the evil 
nature he was not prepared for this scourging 
and, indeed, his nature would have rebelled 
against it ; but having become holy he can be 
Scripturally called a son of God, who takes 
him into a special training for his own glory, 
and intends, if he does not despise the correc- 
tions nor faint at the rebukes, to so change 
every natural trait of character and way that 
nothing will remain to interfere with the free 
operations of the Holy Ghost. 

By evil communications, by false teaching, 
by influences from the world and by an im- 
proper education, the soul has, in addition to 
the evil nature, accumulated habits, manners 



OF THE LATE GEORGE D TINKLE. 83 

or ways that are contrary to the divine law. 
This is the meaning of this new commotion. 
He was ignorant of these wrongs until having 
lived for sometime in the enjoyment of a heart 
free from sin; but his mind was so governed 
by divine grace that his conscience became 
more and more sensitive to anything disap- 
proved by the Word, which was so opened to 
him that his greatest desire became to be molded 
after the perfect model in all things. 

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 
that the man of God may be perfect, thorough- 
ly furnished unto all good works." The object 
of what follows, then, is the perfection of this 
man of God, that he may be useful to God in 
time and eternity. 

The right doctrine has brought about the 
change from sin to holiness, and now he is to 
be chastised or reproved. Some habit or way 
long indulged in, and considered of no partic- 
ular account in religion, now is arrested by a 
truth heretofore unknown, which holds him a 
prisoner until its demands are complied with. 
As he mourns this wrong, the stripes of cor- 
rection come to heal the wound ; and instruc- 
tion gives him the knowledge of the true light 
by which to put away the wrong way, and 
the truth to now walk in. 



84 EXTEACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Thus this work goes on until every imagina- 
tion is cast down and every thought is brought 
into captivity to the obedience of Christ ; not 
by one continuous growth, but gaining succes- 
sive points through faith and obedience ; so 
that when the perfection is complete it is all 
by grace through faith. 

Each of these outward changes rids him of 
something superior to the Savior's ways or 
manners^ which also changes his position 
toward God, the saints, the world or himself, 
and are preceded by suffering as great as can 
be borne, keeping pace with the advancement. 

Satan, as a roaring lion, seems to be let loose 
and comes down in great wrath, knowing his 
time is short; and many times God leaves him 
alone without his visible help or sensible pres- 
ence. But he was never more loved than now, 
and is watched over by that eye that never 
closes to guard and guide still. Through all 
the conditions of Christ he is led: helpless in- 
fancy, suffering manhood, forsaken by friends, 
insulted by enemies, destitute, afflicted, tor- 
mented. Lower and lower he is pressed by these 
afflictions that are to " work out a far more ex- 
ceeding and eternal weight of glory. ' ' This is the 
great design of this suffering, and unless the 
soul becomes more and more humbled there is 
nothing gained. 

Tn this accumulation of outward wrongs, 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 85 



selfishness has intermingled until their nature 
is exalted above the knowledge of God, and 
the furnace must be heated seven times hotter 
than was wont to bring every hidden way to 
light. 

When the whole mass of gold is duly melted 
and the dross fully separated therefrom, the 
refiner looks, and lo ! his own image is reflected 
from every side. So this soul in this crucible 
is divested of every way shown by the Word 
to be wrong, and at length is humbled below 
every thing upon earth. Wealth or poverty, 
joy or grief, pain or pleasure, is equally well 
received, as coming from the hand of God. All 
choice or desire is lost and swallowed up in 
him. He sees all events overruled by infinite 
power and wisdom, and so is satisfied to leave 
all his interests at the disposal of him whom 
he loves supremely. Having resigned his all, 
and holding no claim to himself even, he fears 
nothing but to displease his Sovereign. 

The persecutions that unite against him caus- 
es inward joy that he is worthy to suffer for 
Christ's sake, and he fears no evil, well assured 
God will work it out for good. He rejoices 
evermore and sings: 

"It is the Lord enthroned in light, 
Whose ways are all divine, 
Who has an undisputed right 

To govern rne and mine. 
It is the Lord who gives me all 



86 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

My wealth, my friends, my ease; 
And of his bounty may recall 
Whatever part he please." 

When the heat of suffering has developed 
every lack, reproof arrested and correction re- 
moved every wrong habit, manner or way, so 
that there is no hindrance to God's unlimited 
sway, and the instruction relating thereto suf- 
ficiently understood to be walked in, the soul 
stands before God without spot, or wrinkle, or 
any such thing, and is, according to the Scrip- 
ture, " perfect, even as the Father in heaven is 
perfect." 

The sins forgiven, the sinful nature removed, 
the body brought in subjection to the spirit, 
and the ways harmonized with truth, — the 
work of the atonement has been fulfilled in 
him as far as this life is concerned. One with 
his Maker, yet a distinct, separate, created 
being ; wholly dependent, he realizes his per- 
fect nothingness and rejoices in it. 

With no inclination to any position, no 
change can exalt or humiliate him. " His heart 
is fixed trusting in God." This trust is Scrip- 
tural and right ; he has solid grounds for it ; he 
has lost all dependence on himself by .the real- 
ization of a change ; all trust in anything 
created, because it is a requirement ; and now, 
having been brought into an element boundless, 
bottomless and holy t he comprehends the 
meaning of trusting in God. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



87 



A monument of saving grace, he stands 
"holy, unblamable and unreprovable in God's 
sight, 55 which implies that all the truths that 
relate to an inward work of grace have been 
seen, believed and realized, making him holy; 
that all the truths relating to an outward work 
of grace have been also seen, believed and 
obeyed, making him unreprovable; and now, 
living in God, he is unblamable. When he 
comes to be judged by the Scriptures not one 
truth can condemn or reprove him. 

His attitude is one of quiet repose, waiting 
the voice of God to direct him in duty, which 
to do is his meat and drink. Nothing can 
disturb the perfect peace of his mind which is 
stayed on the only object of his affection. He 
waits with joy all the days of his appointed 
time until his change comes. 

His voice is not heard in the streets, but his 
labors are not in vain in the Lord, are not self- 
directed, and consequently they accomplish 
that for which they were sent. 

His prayers are very concise and pointed, be- 
ing in the Spirit. His testimonies are undemon- 
strative, without ostentation, but a quiet, un- 
seen power attends them. His manner is frank 
and childlike. Like the Savior in whom there 
was no beauty to be desired, he is wholly un- 
interesting to the world, and unmarked save 
for reproach. 



88 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



Having accomplished the design of his crea- 
tion in the salvation of his own soul, he finishes 
his course in submission and obedience to 
his heavenly Father, looking with joy for the 
messenger of death, singing : 

"One will be with me there, whose voice 

I long have loved and known. 
To die is now my wish, my choice; 
I shall not die alone." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



89 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

SCKIPTUKAL SALVATION CONCLUDED. 

The Resurrection. 

"For our conversation is in heaven, from 
whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body 
that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious 
body." 

One more change is necessary to finish the 
Scriptural salvation God, through Christ Jesus, 
provided for the human family. In proportion 
to its value the body was equally affected 
by Adam's fall, previous to which suffering, 
death and a beclouded intellect were unknown. 
While in their innocence and purity, as fast 
as the work of any soul was accomplished on 
this planet, it would have been but the matter 
of a moment to have partaken of the tree of 
life, become immortalized and translated to 
eternity, as is seen by three Scriptural exam- 
ples, — Enoch, Moses and Elijah. 

After the fall God placed cherubim and a 
flaming sword that turned every way to guard 



90 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

this tree of life, lest man should partake of it 
and become an immortal sinner, incapable of 
change. Had salvation been provided for the 
sonl only, Satan's work would not have been 
completely demolished, man's faith would have 
been vain and he would have remained in his 
sins. 

The resurrection of the body, then, is the 
final change which presents man before his 
Maker as perfect, as innocent and as holy in 
every part as when first made in the image of 
God from the dust and animated with a living; 
soul. 

That first body was free from pain and dis- 
ease ; that brain was clear and capable of de- 
ciding correctly everything God required, as is 
shown by this truth: " Every beast of the field 
and every fowl of the air God brought unto 
Adam to see what he would call them; and 
whatsoever Adam called every living creature, 
that was the name thereof." After the fall 
every part of the body was subject to disease, 
suffering and death. The mind dwarfed by sin 
could act but feebly through the equally affect- 
ed brain, although still retaining its God-like 
power of will to choose the good and refuse the 
evil. The appetites and desires of the body, each 
created for a divine purpose, perverted and ag- 
gravated by the curse, clamor for indulgencies, 
and although compelled to submit to the reign 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



91 



of Christ in the heart, are unchanged by grace, 
and require a determined effort of will to keep 
them from destroying the vitality of the divine 
life in the soul, which is in constant danger 
from this source through life. Hence the neces- 
sity of a change in the body as vital, as decided 
and as permanent as that of the soul, which is 
to inhabit it. 

This hope of the Christian is a constant 
source of joy in his pilgrimage through this 
wilderness world. 

The enemies of the Savior only ceased their 
opposition at his death; so while life is in the 
body, there is something to endure or some 
opposing influence to overcome; and the pros- 
pect of an eternity where all is harmony is a 
constant incentive to faithfulness. 

This body, vile as it is, is sown in weakness 
to be raised in power ; it is sown a natural body, 
but the same identity is raised a spiritual body. 

u But now is Christ risen from the dead and 
become the first fruits of them that slept." 
He was buried, but rose again, after which he 
was recognized as the same Jesus who was 
crucified, whose hands and feet were pierced 
with nails, whose side was thrust with a spear. 
Yet it was a resurrected body, and with it he 
could pass through the closed door, and in it 
he ascended up to heaven in the sight of those he 
loved. How the sinful body goes back to dust,. 



92 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMOXS 



or how the identity of it is raised a holy one, is in 
the wisdom and power of God, and not for mor- 
tals to attempt to reason oat. It is enough to 
know it is promised and that Christ was the first 
fruit of the promise ; and although the way to 
it is through death, an untried and an unknown 
way, as none return to describe it, yet faith 
recognizes the Scriptural record of it, and the 
saved soul closes his eyes to earth, in full as- 
surance that though soul and body part, they 
will be reunited in the resurrection. In time 
with the Lord there are but two classes, the 
saved and the unsaved, and no wealth, position, 
refinement or education adds to the number 
with him. So in the resurrection there are but 
two classes, the just and the unjust. 

' 1 The dead in Christ shall rise first. " " Blessed 
and holy is he that hath part in the first resur- 
rection, on such the second death hath no power, 
but they shall be priest of God and of Christ, 
and shall reign with him a thousand years," 
at the end of which the sea gave up the dead 
which were in it ; death and hell delivered up 
the dead which were in them, and they were 
judged every man according to their works. 
Whosoever were not found written in the Book 
of Life were cast into the lake of fire. The fear- 
ful, the unbelieving and the abominable all are 
in one place. The haughty, the outcast, the 
refined, the polluted, the educated, the ignor- 



OF THE LATE GKEOKGE DUNKLE. 93 

ant, the church member who did not keep his 
baptismal vows, the drunkard from the ditch, 
the preacher who kept the whole law but of- 
fended in one point, and the atheist, are in one 
place. There is no caste. There is no high, no 
low. All is weeping and wailing and gnashing 
of teeth in this lake of fire and brimstone, 
which is the second death. 

4 ' Come hither ; I will show thee the Bride, the 
Lamb' s wife. And he showed me that great city, 
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven 
from God. The city had no need of the sun, 
neither of the moon to shine in it : for the glory 
of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the 
light thereof. The nations of them that are 
saved shall walk in the light of it. The throne 
of God and the Lamb are in it, and his servants 
shall see his face and his name shall be in their 
foreheads. There shall be no more death, 
neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there 
be any more pain,' 5 forever and forever. 

Neither are there any grades here. Those 
who supposed the stars differing one from the 
other applied to grades in this place are mis- 
taken; the truth only referring to the vast dif- 
ference between the vile body before death, and 
the same glorious body after the resurrection. 
Here is the soul mentioned in the preceding 
chapters. Starting in sin, converted, led into 
a pure heart, delivered from the evil nature, 



94 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

faithful through all the chastisements of the 
Lord, now possessed of his redeemed body, 
which is as holy and as perfect as the soul which 
enters it, and soul and body now his glorious 
image bear. 

Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of 
Jesus, the woman taken in the act of crime, 
brought to be stoned, but forgiven instead, and 
the thief on the cross, are there. That humble 
one of whom all manner of evil has been said 
falsely, and whom you thought the vilest of 
the vile, obeyed the Lord fully, and is there. 
That aged woman who walked miles to hear 
the gospel while her husband rode in his car- 
riage to his church, obeyed that doctrine of 
faith and obedience, and although her body 
was many times blackened by blows from her 
sanctimonious husband, now has a glorified 
body and joins the company of the redeemed. 
That man who stood for the defense of truth 
unaided and alone, who faithfully exposed the 
true condition of the Protestant churches of 
this time at the expense of all life held dear, 
who was brought before magistrates, for the 
faith that saved his soul in reality, though on a 
baser charge, and who enforced all he had 
taught by his dying breath, is among the num- 
ber. 

Those saints who are alive at the coming of 
the Lord shall be changed in the twinkling of 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 95 

an eye, by the same almighty power that resur- 
rects the body, and shall join the blood- washed 
throng who meet him whose second coming is 
without sin unto salvation, and so shall they 
dwell forever in those regions of bliss. 

Not one of this company have any regrets 
now that they were so strict to keep the words of 
God ; neither are they at all sorry they refused 
the way in which many traveled, nor that they 
separated themselves from the company of 
professors who " loved Jesus," but refused 
his laws, who now find their names are not in 
the Book of Life ; nor do they regret that on 
earth they raised their voices in condemnation 
of " trusting in Jesus" without a change of 
heart. 

Their way was condemned and opposed from 
conversion to death ; they were without friends 
or influence ; they were considered the filth 
and the off scouring of the world; but they 
kept the faith once delivered to the saints, and 
now sanctified soul and glorified body unite, 
clothed in the wedding garment pure and white, 
washed by faith in the blood of yonder Lamb, 
oil in their vessels with their lamps, they hear 
the voice, ' ' These are my jewels, " u Enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord." 

Ah, what will a man give in exchange for his 
soul? If he could, in imagination at least, 
place himself in eternity and dwell upon its 



96 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

awful realities, — the resurrection of the just and 
the unjust, the judgment scene, the opened 
books, the lake of fire, — he would not think 
God's Word of so little importance as to be 
slighted and evaded, and then " trust in Jesus" 
to save him. 

" Working for Jesus," and " saving souls 
for Jesus," is unauthorized and disapproved by 
Scripture, yet the "trade mark " of all who un- 
dertake the business is, "Do you love Jesus f 1 
and without an attempt to explain its weighty 
meaning draws thousands of thoughtless souls 
into a profession of the Christian religion with- 
out an iota of conviction, let alone a change of 
heart ; so far is the world removed from the true 
faith. 

0, damnable doctrine of devils ! Worse than 
Calvinism, worse than infidelity is this doctrine 
that so nearly imitates the true. Were its 
falsity more apparent it would deceive less; 
but soothingly it cradles to sleep the conscience 
by "loving Jesus," and unchanged by obedience 
to the truth, and setting aside the plainest 
commands, the soul clings to the lovely song of 
"Trusting in Jesus," until the billows of death 
" o'er him roll, and he laments forever the ruin 
of his soul." 

Happy is he who is honest and earnest enough 
to be able to see the signs of the times in which 
we live ! Happy is he who, having the light, 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 97 

has courage enough, and cares enough for his 
immortal soul, to stand in condemnation of this 
false profession as the Savior, and did then 
takes up his Bible, that of the prophets, the 
apostles, and of Jesus Christ himself, believes it, 
obeys it, and thus becomes changed from sin 
to holiness ! Yea, happy is he whose God is 
the Lord ; for after death he shall have part in 
the first resurrection, and upon such the second 
death hath no power. 

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, 
Christ has burst the gates of hell ; 
Death in vain forbids his rise, 
Christ has opened paradise. 

Love's redeeming work is done ; 
Fought the fight, the battle won ; 
Once he died our souls to save ; 
Where's thy victory, boasting grave ? 



98 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER IX, 

UNIVERSAL FELLOWSHIP. 

"Many will say to me in that day. Lord, 
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? 
in thy name have cast out devils ? and in thy 
name done many wonderful works ? And then 
will I profess unto them, I never knew you; 
depart from me ye that work iniquity." 

The age of pagan idolatry gave place to Ro- 
man superstition, which in time was compelled 
to some extent to give way to the Reformation. 
At length the stronghold of Calvinism, that 
doctrine of devils, was laid siege to by the 
teachings of the Wesleys. For the last fifty years 
Arminianism has been yielding to Universalism, 
which, with accelerated strides, has obtained a 
foothold in every Protestant denomination ; 
and indeed, even Popery, that for so many 
centuries tolerated nothing contrary to itself, 
unless at the point of the sword, has within a 
few years evinced signs of favor to the unchris- 
tian doctrine of universal salvation. 

Calvinism, ashamed of its atrocious charge 
against the Deity and its injustice to that por- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 99 

tion of the human family whose only crime was 
not having been created the elect, was glad of 
an excuse to lay aside its peculiar doctrines, 
and unwilling to acknowledge defeat in the 
battle between them and the Methodists, which 
had raged with more or less influence and 
power for more than a century, began gradual- 
ly to lean toward this refined infidelity. So 
far indeed had concessions been made that at 
the time of the Evangelical Alliance none were 
more active in the effort to harmonize all differ- 
ences than the delegates from those churches 
whose Articles of Faith requires a belief in the 
irrevocable decrees of God as held by John 
Calvin. 

The Methodists were the only body whose 
doctrines demanded a change of heart as a ne- 
cessity for the service of the Lord. Her spir- 
ituality being so marked she towered above 
her neighbors heavenward. Her vitality has 
been supplanted by numbers, wealth and cere- 
monies so gradually that none seem aware to 
what port she is drifting. The leaders, losing 
the u single eye," became ashamed of the cross 
which requires a separation from the world 
and a testimony against its evil works, and 
began a little at a time to relax strict discipline, 
and nothing could take its place but the uni- 
versal plan of God's mercy to overlook and 
allow a neglect of duty. Members were occa- 



100 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

sionally (at first) put into offices of trust who 
were known to be lacking in spirituality, who 
never testified to saving faith, but were rather 
persons of wealth or prominence in the world, 
who gave to the humble society an influence of 
prosperity. 

This course soon instilled into the whole body 
a desire like that of the Israelites when they 
asked for a king so as to be like the nations 
around them. Their holy women, too, who had 
so sincerely avoided the fashions of the world, 
now began to shut their eyes to plain truth, 
and an occasional feather or flower on the hat, 
ruffle on the dress, or ring on the finger (the 
gift of a dear departed friend, perhaps) was 
allowed without reproof , was at last sanctioned 
by the leaders. The leaven kept working, and 
seeing the advantage of secret brotherhood 
among the non-professors, and fearing the pro- 
tection and help of God would prove insufficient 
or wholly fail, many leaders and church mem- 
bers also joined the dark fraternities into which 
no ray of divine light ever entered ; and a true 
Christian would as soon be persuaded to enter 
the chambers of the bottomless pit as to enter 
their mysterious secrets through an unknown 
oath. 

If any dared to lift a warning voice against 
this unfaithfulness creeping in so slowly he 
was soon silenced by the teaching, ' s Judge not 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 101 

another's conscience;" and the truth began to 
be bent and wrested to cover or approve the 
case. 

As principle grew less, human wisdom and 
natural sympathy took its place, until none 
could bear the thought of dear ones being lost, 
and Gfod was provided a nature, — sympathetic 
enough to save friends even at the expense of 
truth, which was becoming but an advisory in- 
vitation to better living. 

This course kept covering over disobedience, 
responsibility and hell, until there is not a 
church member who dies but that, according 
to the sermon, he is admitted to the courts of 
glory; and even those not professing religion 
at all are left in the hands of a merciful God, 
who gave his only Son to die for sinners; and 
enough more is hinted at to give the friends 
good hope that the deceased is not lost. 

So the Methodists, by concessions and com- 
promises, have yielded the radical points which 
brought souls up to Scriptural requirements in 
order to change them, until there is no differ- 
ence between, them and the other professing 
Christians. 

You may now travel throughout the length 
and breadth of the land and inquire among the 
Methodist church members what evidence 
they have of being Christians . The truthful 
answer of many will be : " Why, I am a mem- 



102 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

ber of the church." A few aged persons will 
tell you of a time, fifty years ago, when they 
went sorrowing for days, convicted of sin and 
burdened with guilt, and how they at last 
found forgiveness and lived in the glory of 
God. But ask them if they have that witness 
now, and if they are honest enough they will 
tell you "No;" if they are gilded over by the 
prevailing influence they will say: "I am 
trusting in Jesus. I love Jesus and expect in 
the 'sweet bye and bye' to meet loved ones 
gone before." Ask the younger ones and they 
will say: "I do not know just when I was con- 
verted. I decided to live a Christian life and 
am working for Jesus, so hope to be approved 
at last." Another will say: u My experience 
was not as bright as some. I went forward for 
prayers and felt badly for awhile, and then I 
felt better. I began to love Jesus and am 
working for him as well as I can." Now go to 
the leaders, yes, even the bishops, and if by 
any means you can obtain a heartfelt, truthful 
answer, nine-tenths of them can give you no 
testimony of a change of heart, and the other 
tenth are not now in possession of the witness 
once enjoyed. 

Some, and even many, now that it is to some 
extent popular, even profess holiness ; but it is 
a spurious kind that does not even bring them 
to an evidence of sins forgiven, and only pro- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 103 

duces on those who believe in it a more zealous 
devotion to the prevailing influence of love and 
good works, but leaves the nature unchanged. 

Few believe that depravity can be entirely 
removed before death, and many doubt the 
total depravity of the human heart. 

With this removing of the old landmarks, 
this laying aside of every distinctive peculiar- 
ity of doctrine, this severing of every dividing 
line, and this yielding to the popular cry for 
"more liberality," where can Methodism fall 
but into the lap of Universalism % With all 
differences laid aside or harmonized universal 
fellowship must be the result. 

The Quakers were the last to cling to their 
orthodoxy, their disdain of hireling priests 
and useless ceremonies, their belief in spiritual 
worship and separation from other professing 
Christians. But through the influence of the 
teachings of Miss Smiley and others they at 
last yielded to the overwhelming influence and 
joined in the cry of " union." 

What was lacking to consolidate the hetero- 
geneous mass was supplied by the Evangelical 
Alliance, which brought together every branch 
of Protestantism and united them in love, but 
not Christian love. 

This is a sight the world never saw before. 
Churches, with doctrines as diverse one from 
another as heaven and hell, bridge over the 



104 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

great gulf by love to one another. Leaders, as 
guides to the blind, clasp hands in fellowship 
with those whose doctrines are condemned and 
repudiated by their own. Church members 
follow on in violation of solemn vows to believe 
in the doctrines of the church of their choice. 
So, if this course is Scriptural, universal salva- 
tion waits for all. As it is, there is cause for 
joy all along the Universalist line at the power- 
ful augmentation to their once feeble ranks ; 
and the refined infidelity that believes in a 
Supreme Being, but rejects his character and 
changes his Word, is the great leader that is 
being blindly followed by the entire professed 
world. 

Many will wink slyly at this accusation; 
others will deny it, and still others lift their 
hands in horror at the thought. A person 
called by two names remains but one individ- 
ual; and a profession of the same faith by 
several bodies remains one faith still. 

The Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregation- 
al, Baptist and all others who unite in love and 
fellowship, have stepped one foot at least upon 
the Universalist platform, and need but to wait 
a few years more until the qualms of conscience 
have been farther deadened to wholly join in 
the worship of this Beast, whose mark is al- 
ready in the forehead or hands of every church 
bearing the Christian name. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 105 

Already the true life of God in the soul is as 
much rejected as was the Savior when upon 
earth in mortal form. The cry of u loving 
Jesus" is instilled into the mind of the child, 
the youth, the middle aged and the gray 
headed; but the necessity of a change before 
divine love is known is almost unheard of, and 
the Redeemer is loved as a very kind, self-sac- 
rificing, human friend, just as the Universalists 
believe him to be. But his scathing denuncia- 
tions of a hypocritical profession, his anger at 
their hardness of heart and his command, 6 c Ex- 
cept a man be born again he cannot see the king- 
dom of God," are smoothed over and general- 
ized, examined, divided and compared so as to 
mean really nothing at all. This is another 
following of the Universalists. 

The Scriptures say: "All the good done in 
the earth the Lord doeth it." Yet directly or 
indirectly every one of these religious bodies 
teach "good works" as meritorious in them- 
selves, a means of proficiency in grace and a 
reliable passport to heaven ; and almost every 
way that can be invented by the human mind or 
suggested by Satan is made use of as fields for 
the accomplishment of these church labors, 
which is but another device of the Universalists. 

If the body was the temple of the Holy 
Ghost he would unfold the will of the Father 
to the mind, and if followed would leave 



106 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

;i Xo melancholy void, 
Xo moment lingers unemployed 
Or unimproved below," 

and would supply the most enlarged desires 
with a divine portion, perfectly satisfactory. 
But with no experimental knowledge of truth 
to attract and interest the mind there must be 
something sought out as a substitute for the 
inward life of God in the soul. Hence, all these 
church entertainments, - parties, suppers, con- 
certs, tableaux, picnics, excursions, etc. ; and as 
it is well to combine business with pleasure, to 
most of them are affixed ways and means of 
money- making, of which the church is always 
in need. 

The Christian religion is of divine origin and 
implies a change, not only in the outward life 
which is made to conform to the Scriptures, 
but the spirit is changed to another, and the 
soul or natural life must give place to a new 
and holier nature. Then the person has a new 
life within, — a something he never had before, 
but which is as impossible to explain to one 
who knows nothing of it as it was for Nicode- 
mus to understand what the Savior meant by 
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou 
hearest the sound thereof, but cannot tell 
whence it cometh or whither it goeth; so is 
every one that is born of the Spirit." 

In every church there is a form prescribed ta 



OF THE LATE GEOBGE BUCKLE. 107 

go through with to become Christians, but it 
only brings about a human "love f or Jesus," 
and an influence of peace and happiness at the 
thought and belief of being a Christian; but it 
brings no change within. 

The swearing man may become a praying 
man; the drunkard a sober church member; 
the vain woman a regular church worker ; and 
may "trust in Jesus" until their dying breath, 
and yet be unchanged by grace. 

The preaching of the truth as it is in Jesus 
will convict sinners irresistible, and they will 
feel an influence of a power that does not come 
by simply thinking over the sinful, wasted life 
with an intention to reform. The most re- 
fined and upright in life feel it equally with 
the most dissolute ; and if both classes repent 
and find forgiveness the change is equally great 
both to themselves and to others. Take Mary 
Magdalene, out of whom was cast seven devils, 
and Paul, who as touching the law was blame- 
less, as examples. God makes no distinction 
in sins, calling some great and others small; 
and none can say "I have not sinned;" so that 
the work of grace is a necessity to all who be- 
come Bible Christians. 

Look at the great ado made over persons 
who were addicted to habits of filthiness or in- 
toxication, who have become sober, upright 
citizens, as though they were saved souls ready 
to die and fit for heaven. 



108 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Although common decency and respectability 
is to be greatly commended, yet an influence 
that places this reformed class as Christians or 
as proper subjects for church fellowship is but 
following in the wake of Universalis m. And 
great meetings are held especially for the ben- 
efit of this class, and their testimony of their 
struggle to decide against and overcome these 
gross habits, and the subsequent temptations, 
are rejoiced over and applauded as though they 
were sinners saved by grace, instead of sinners 
still to whom ought to be preached the thun- 
ders of the law and the condemnations of the 
gospel, by which they might be made to feel 
that their rejoicings, because they had become 
respected members of society by the use of their 
own powers, did not atone for their sins against 
Almighty God. Ah ! what a delusive influence 
is thrown around this class, and how often, 
with no inward strength such as grace givas, is 
there a fall deeper than before. Yet should he 
by dint of great courage and will stand firm, how 
much better is his case in view of eternity, as 
he is still in the broad way, although he is 
made to hope he is a Christian ? 

It may be asked, "What will become of the 
heathen if such a sweeping condemnation is 
just?" The effort of missions will, no doubt, 
be successful in civilizing and educating those in 
whose cause they are laboring, but it must take 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 109 

the same influence and truth to save a heathen 
from sin as it would to save me. " Those who 
have not the law are a law unto themselves, 
having the work of the law written in their 
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness of 
right or wrong doing, and their thoughts accus- 
ing or excusing one another. So if the heathen 
heeds the inward monitor, like Socrates, he may 
become saved, To expend lives and money, time 
and labor to disseminate the same religious in- 
fluence that is deceiving thousands of souls 
and leading them blindly down to the regions 
of the lost by a false hope, is but taking them 
out of one evil into another. As both leave 
him in the broad way, I say emphatically, a 
gospel that cannot save a civilized American 
w ill not save an uncivilized heathen. 

In conclusion, what is the effect of this amal- 
gamation of religious effort and influence ? It 
may be summed up in two classes. To one it 
destroys all confidence in God, the Bible and the 
Christian religion. ' ' If there is no vital differ- 
ence between the churches, and so little differ- 
ence between professing Christians and those 
who make no pretensions to piety, I am as safe 
as any," they justly reason. As to the future, 
all is uncertainty and doubt. "If the Bible 
can be made to mean anything or nothing," 
they argue, "and God justifies each in 
their peculiar version of it, then it is of no 



110 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



more authority than the Koran or Confucius; 
and as there is little or nothing claimed but 
what may be enjoyed independent of a profes- 
sion of religion, we may as well follow our sev- 
eral inclinations for happiness in this life, and 
let the future, of which we have no knowledge, 
if Bible truths may be bent to meet every 
faith, take care of itself. ' ' The other, believing 
there certainly is such a place as hell, desires to 
escape it, and so follows the best religious light 
shining from the pulpits of the different 
churches. 

They walk blindly on, with many misgivings 
-as to the rightfulness of the way, doubts as to 
its being the narrow one, and fears as to its 
ending; but never once daring to think and be- 
lieve for themselves, independent of surround 
ings, and shrinking from the certain opposition 
any dissenting views would secure, they simply 
neglect the promptings of the still small voice 
that so many times refers them to the wrongs 
committed or countenanced, and also convinces 
them of the falsity of their pretensions, to a 
preparation for death and the judgment, until 
its voice is heard no more and they die "trust- 
ing in Jesus, ' ' as they know not what else to 
do. These same persons, when reading the 
Bible, are often conscience smitten at their 
open violation of plain truths, and, on asking 
for an explanation of their meaning, hear it 



OF THE LATE GEORGE BUCKLE. Ill 

bent and so defined that their fears are quieted 
and they think their disturbed feeling due to 
the temptations of Satan, and again settle down 
on a false hope. At last the different diver- 
sions to the mind offered from both the church 
and the world crowd out the last spark of con- 
viction, and the soul is left to ' c believe a lie, 
and be damned because they believed not the 
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 

What an awful account the religious leaders 
of the world will have to render to God in the 
final day ! How many hundreds, yea, thous- 
ands of souls will join them on the left hand ! 
"I sought unto you for the 'strait gate 
and narrow way,' " in despairing tones of re- 
proach they cry; "I followed your teach- 
ing which you assured me was right; I loved 
Jesus, but find he only loves those who kept 
his words. I trusted in him but find his words, 
which you taught me were not strict require- 
ments, condemn me now. Although we have 
cried fi Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in 
thy name, in thy name have cast out devils and 
in thy name have done many wonderful 
works, ' ' ' yet with the last wail of anguish comes 
the awful words, " I never knew you. Depart 
from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, pre' 
pared for the devil and his angels." 

If allowance is made for sincerity in ignor- 
ance, can this reach the case of those who have 



112 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Bibles in their homes, and so often the Holy 
Spirit brings to the mind its plain precepts % 
The attention is arrested for a moment but im- 
mediately the cross appears, the persecution 
that must follow it looms up to the mind and it 
is simply neglected, until there is no feeling 
at the continued rejection of truth ; and it 
seems that nothing but the sound of the last 
trump will awaken the religious world from 
the fatal lethargy into which it is fallen. 

€t Where now, O where shall sinners seek 
For shelter in the general wreck? 
Shall falling rocks be o'er them thrown? 
See rock like snow dissolving down ! 
In vain for mercy now they cry! 
In lakes of liquid fire they lie; 
There on those flaming billows toss'd, 
Forever, 0, forever lost! " 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



na 



CHAPTER X. 

GOD, 

"Justice and judgment are the habitation 
of thy throne." 

To examine the infinitude of this majestic 
being or to investigate the unchangeable extent 
of him who, from everlasting to everlasting, is 
the same, is not my purpose; neither should it 
concern mortals to attempt by the reasonings 
of the mind to understand what even superior 
created beings cannot fathom. Suffice it then 
to be able to know the relationship existing be- 
tween man and his Maker, and the claims of 
each resulting therefrom. 

The divine record shows at the creation of 
man the relationship between him and his 
Creator was mutual love and purity. The 
claims of Gfod on man were submission and 
obedience. The claims of man on Grod were 
care and direction. 

God the supreme head immediately placed 
man under law with a penalty attached. "Of 
every tree in the garden thou may est freely eat, ' 9 



114 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

said he, " but the tree of the knowledge of good 
and evil thou shalt not eat of it ; for in the day 
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Sa- 
tan' s testimony denied this penalty. So, look- 
ing at the forbidden fruit long enough to re- 
ceive a false impression of its desirability, man 
doubted the truthfulness of the penalty, yielded 
to Satan and ate the fruit. What was the re- 
sult \ Did man find that God would be indif- 
ferent to his word, or bend it to cover his sin ? 
In disobeying man had no knowledge of the 
consequences of disobedience to the law under 
which he was placed; and if there ever could 
be any allowance made for sin it' should be in 
his ignorant state ; but we find the penalty 
carried out, and man died. What is the mean- 
ing of this death ? Not what is commonly called 
death, for he still retained a physical existence 
that breathed and moved as before. Death of 
the body implies a separation of the soul from 
the body. This death resulting from disobe- 
dience was the separation of man from his re- 
lationship with God, or from love and purity. 
He is now changed; his love gives place to 
fear; his purity to sin; he has forfeited his 
claim on God for care and guidance, and begins 
to seek ways and means for his own care and 
direction. 

God remains unchanged in himself, but 
changed in his position and feelings towards 



OF THE LATE GEORGE BUCKLE. 115 

man. His love is turned to pity, so that a 
promise was given him of a Savior to come 
who should bruise the serpent's head ; yet his 
wrath was so great that in addition to the death 
he pronounced a curse upon all the parties to 
the transgression. 

Ages have rolled by, and what does man now 
know of God ? What is the relationship ex- 
isting between them and the claims of each ? 

From birth day follows day, and the years 
at last bring a time of personal responsibility. 
He knows nothing of God only what he sees in 
his works and in his revealed will — the Bible. 

Amid the destruction of wars and the wrest- 
ing of truth by false doctrines throughout all 
the ages of the world, we assume that God has 
taken care of his will to man ; and the Bible of 
to-day is sufficiently correct to bring the soul 
back to its original relationship with God. 

After the fall of man God held the same 
claim of submission and obedience, and still 
looking upon him with pitying love, provides 
a way to bring back a part at least, and all if 
they chose to come, of the human family to 
their original relationship, and places him un- 
der law moral, sacrificial and spiritual. 

The sacrificial being fulfilled in the offering 
of Christ became obsolete. The spirituality of 
the moral law is brought to light in the gospel 
of the Son of God, and will so continue until 
the end of time. 



116 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

God s spiritual law remains plain enough for 
the most illiterate to understand its first re- 
quirements, and in the plan of redemption the 
Holy Ghost is promised to explain it to those 
who will do it. 

There is a penalty affixed to this law for time 
and eternity. As with the penalty attached to 
God's first law to man, so now, Satan denies 
it. To Adam he said : " Thou shalt not sure- 
ly die now he says : " God is not strict ; he 
makes great allowance ; you need not do all 
the Bible commands ; perhaps it does not mean 
just as it reads. In its translation it may have 
been many times changed ; and there are many 
different explanations of the same truths. So 
all you need to do is to keep enough of its com- 
mands to keep up with the prevailing idea of 
a religious life, and love Jesus who died for 
# you, and die trusting in him and you will be 
saved in the future world." 

But what he told man in the garden of Eden 
proved to be a lie. What proof have you now 
that he has become more truthful ? Indeed, 
he is called a liar by the Savior himself, and 
none of his acts deny the assertion. 

God's nature as revealed by himself is love, 
but his attributes are justice and mercy. 

In mercy to man he provided a way of salva- 
tion by the death of his Son ; in justice he 
gave him his law by which this provision might 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 117 

be available. In mercy he throws around him 
the circumstances best calculated to show him 
his ]ost condition and induce him to heed the 
impressions of the Holy Spirit, who in mercy 
is sent to the heart to convince of sin, of right- 
eousness and of judgment. In justice he ful- 
fills his promises of salvation to the obedient 
believer ; in mercy he calls after the wanderer ; 
and when death calls for the account in justice 
to his own attributes, and also to every individ- 
ual, the rewards and punishments must be 
meted out according to law. Could he be just 
and not do all in his pow r er to save the world ? 
His requirements in this age are as plain as to 
Adam. He urges the obedience to them by 
every inducement. He holds the future re- 
wards of obedience and disobedience before the 
mind. No excuse can be rendered. The com- 
mands were neither too mysterious to be under- 
stood nor too hard to be done ; every help was 
promised to shun the wrong, every help to do 
the right. 

Why are you here without the wedding gar- 
ment ? Because ye would not. Will God 
change his law now % Will he bend it ? Will 
he break it % 

If he will he is no God. If he would change 
it now he would any other time; and so the 
the whole law would be but a fiction. Why 
then regard it at all more than any other in- 



118 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



vention of the human mind ? What reason 
have we to believe that the Bible is the revealed 
will of God to man? Anything that is true 
will bear the closest scrutiny and the most 
rigid investigation ; and what will not endure 
all possible tests is proven false. Is there then 
any positive proof of the divine truthfulness of 
the Bible, or that every word will be verified ? 

By its record of historical facts corroborating 
each other and substantiated by other writers 
its truthfulness is proven as far as they are con- 
cerned. 

By its fulfillment of salvation to the one w r ho 
has believed and obeyed it are its promises 
proven true ; but none ever came back from a 
future state of existence to tell us whether God 
at the last broke faith with the human family, 
and none can have a personal knowledge with- 
out a personal experience. 

But if his word proved true to Adam, and 
every declaration of prophecy has come to 
pass as far as time has allowed of its fulfillment 
with reference to Christ and the nations of the 
earth, that is proof of its authenticity. If the 
soul filled with sin and fear believes and obeys 
until he finds the original relationship between 
him and God restored, and mutual love and 
purity become an undeniable witness between 
them, he will not need any farther argument 
to urge him to the belief of the continued good 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 119 

faith of God with the world until all have been 
duly rewarded for their works. 

As the prophecies are proven by facts and 
the promises by experience, so we have every 
possible reason to believe that he who has in 
justice kept his word so far will. continue to do 
so until the whole human family are assigned 
their proper places for eternity. 

Why has the professed church so little regard 
for the truth, of God at the present day 3 Their 
profession requires no cross, their experience 
no self-denial, their religion brings no persecu- 
tion, their baptismal vows are of no more mean- 
ing to them than a romance, and the Bible is 
like a relic, of no possible value only because 
of its antiquity, and why % 

Because Satan has said as to Adam, ' 1 thou 
shalt not surely die," he has instilled into the 
united Protestant faith a lie, and there is not 
a leader who refutes it. 

That there are true Christians in all the 
churches is the firm belief, and none are re- 
quired or expected to come up to the whole 
word of God; and the justice of God with 
Adam is changed to Satan' s denial. 

If you sum up the testimonies of Christian 
experience it is "I love Jesus." If you sum 
up their preparation for the trying scene of the 
judgment, where the secrets of all hearts are 
recorded as well as their deeds, and will be 



120 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

judged by God's unbending law, it is "I am 
trusting in Jesus." 

Will not God be avenged on such a nation ? 

Look at the Israelites when they forsook the 
statutes of the Lord. Judgments fierce and 
sore were poured out upon them. Look at 
Jerusalem, the great city of David, who killed 
the prophets and crucified the Savior, although 
he fulfilled every prophecy referring to his 
coming. Not one stone upon another was left 
by the judgments of God. Look at the great 
nations of the earth, Egypt, Persia, Greece, 
Rome and many others. Where is their an- 
cient splendor and magnificence ? Swept away 
by the besom of God's wrath. Where is the 
purity of the ancient holy Catholic faith ? Re- 
jected little by little to give place to superstitious 
rites and ceremonies by disregarding God' slaw. 
Where is the doctrine of John Wesley ? Buried 
by its leaders, who said : " It is unnecessary 
to be so strict;" and Satan also said: Thou 
shalt not surely be lost, even if you do disre- 
gard God's word, if you only " love Jesus." 

Has not the Lord poured out upon you the 
spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes ? 
And hath he not covered the prophets, the 
rulers and the seers ? The law of God has be- 
come a book that is sealed, so that neither the 
learned nor the unlearned can see it. The fear 
of God is taught by the precepts of men so 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 121 

that it only amounts to a fashionable preten- 
sion to piety. 

" If thou will not observe to do all the words 
of this law that is written in this book, and 
fear his glorious name, then will he make thy 
plagues wonderful and bring upon thee sore 
sicknesses of long continuance until thou be 
destroyed. The Lord will scatter thee among 
all people and nations, and there thou shalt 
have no ease, but a trembling heart and sorrow of 
mind." 

u He that heareth these sayings of mine and 
doeth them not will I liken unto a foolish man 
who built his house upon the sand." 

" He that loveth me keepeth my words." 

"Them that obey not the gospel of Christ 
shall be punished with everlasting destruction 
from the presence of the Lord and from the 
glory of his power." 

So although Grod's character is love, and it 
is his will that all men be saved, yet his justice 
is as unchangeable as his truth ; and he who 
has presumed upon God' s mercy and neglected 
his commandments will be among the class 
Christ wept over, saying : " How often would 
I have gathered thy children together even as 
a hen gathered her chickens under her wings, 
and ye would not" "If thou hadst known, 
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things 
which belong to thy peace ! but now they are hid 
from thine eyes." 



122 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHATTER XL 

MAN. 

" Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." 

For nearly six thousand years man has come 
and gone from the earth, and our greatest con- 
cern should be, what is the design of his being ? 
What is his responsibility ? What is his des- 
tiny ? 

His being unsought is certainly not designed 
for himself, but his responsibility belonging 
solely to him, the use he makes of it decides 
his destiny. Divine pleasure in his obedience 
and displeasure in his disobedience clearly 
shows the design of his creation. God in his 
infinite wisdom planned, before the creation of 
the world, the creation of man with an ability 
capable of obeying his Maker's commands if 
he would, but free to disobey if he chose to do 
so, so that his service to God would be of his 
free will, if at all. Such a service, uncompelled, 
would be a delight to his Creator, and such a 
being an object of loving care and joy forever. 

Into the garden where he was placed came a 
different influence and another nature. Man 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 123 

yielding to this influence became possessed of 
the same nature. 

Here is the first record of two influences and 
two natures directly opposite to each other on 
earth ; the first pure, peaceable and heavenly, 
the second earthly, sensual and devilish ; the 
first wholly right, the second wholly wrong,* 
the first God-like, the second Satanic; as su- 
perior as the heavens are to the earth, or as 
superior as God's character is to the devil, so 
far superior in the creation is the holy spirit 
and nature of man to the Satanic one. 

Man's spirit and nature was first like God's; 
after his disobedience his spirit and nature be- 
came like Satan's ; from that time until the end 
of the world, unchanged by grace, it remains 
the same. It may be educated and refined, 
may be covered over and kept under, yet with 
the right provocation it will show itself the very 
same Satanic spirit and nature. Wherever 
man moves among men he will meet the same; 
not one exception, unless changed by a divine 
power. 

By observing the Scriptural account of per- 
sons, wherever there was one who had another 
spirit he was marked ; separate and distinct 
from those with whom he was surrounded, he 
became at once an object of interest, then of 
temptation ; and if unyielding in his position 
he soon becomes an object of persecution, and 



124 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

if possible of destruction. Look at Abel, slain 
because his offering was righteous ! Look at 
Joseph, hated and sold into slavery because 
of his integrity ! See the stripling David, an 
object of envy to his friends and murderous 
spite to his enemies ! See Daniel and his three 
companions singled out for destruction because 
there was something in them different from 
others ! Look at the disciples. Every place 
they entered was in commotion at their pres- 
ence ; and though they harmed no one, neither 
violated the secular law, yet there was an un- 
defined influence about them that roused up 
the spirit and nature of those who retained 
what they had been delivered from. 

Look at the history of Christianity for nearly 
nineteen hundred years ! Wherever there was 
one man who had another spirit and nature, 
there Satan gathered his forces for war, and 
every one having Ms spirit and nature joined 
in the effort to subdue or exterminate. 

The Savior said : u Marvel not if the world 
hate you. If ye were of the world the world 
would love his own." This is why Paul said : 
"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ 
Jesus shall suffer persecution.' 

Although there are differences of opinion, 
quarrels and fightings among those of the same 
unholy spirit and nature, yet let there come 
one in their midst who has it not and all these 



OF THE LATE GEORGE D TINKLE. 125 

differences will be laid aside, and every man 
will stand to his true % colors, a united front 
against Mm to break down and destroy this 
superior difference. Look at the Savior ! Pilate 
and Herod laid aside their enmity to unite in a 
condemnation to crucify one in whom they 
could find no fault. 

It has been many times exemplified in a com- 
munity where one having become changed is 
an object of decided hatred to all but a few 
who are outwardly friendly, but halting and 
undecided. But as the opposition gains ground 
one after another of these halting ones join the 
opposing party, and when the extent of the 
persecution is reached every one has chosen his 
side, God or Baal. 

Wherever there is a community where no 
such object of hatred and opposition is found 
it is conclusive evidence that but one spirit and 
nature exists in the place. 

Man's voluntary act changed him to evil, 
but he had no power to change himself back to 
holiness. So Grod laid help upon One who is 
mighty to save, and sent his Son, as planned 
before the foundation of the world, to die in 
man's stead, the just for the unjust, that he 
might if he would recover the spirit and nature 
he lost. 

No self-control nor refraining from sin, neither 
a profession of religion, however sincere or de- 



126 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

rout, changes the natural state. But obedience 
to the truth and a living faith in this provision 
brings another spirit and a holy nature. 

What • then, is man' s responsibility ? 

For every voluntary act, for every harbored 
thought, and for retaining this evil spirit and 
nature, God will hold him accountable in the 
final day and judge him accordingly. The 
temptation to evil acts are not hidden from 
him. Objects for evil thoughts are ever before 
him, yet he has an ability capable of resisting 
any temptation or rejecting any sinful thought. 

This ability should not be underestimated, 
as it is the chief foundation stone in the human 
structure, which without it is but a delicate 
piece of machinery, without power, and useless 
to himself, to God or to the world. 

Without it God could not in justice condemn 
any disobedience to his law 5 neither mete out 
any punishment to the world for their condi- 
tion or their acts, and human beings would 
be no more accountable or responsible than 
trees or stones. 

The religious teaching of the age is more 
clearly shown in this than on any other point ^s 
false and blinding, with no Scriptural discipline, 
no straight line drawn between the right and the 
wrong, all distinctive doctrines veiled, and 
every landmark removed. The whole drift of 
the teaching, preaching and j)ractice leave the 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DTIIsKLE. 127 

impression (that in time becomes so fixed a fact 
that the voice of conscience is stilled) that hu- 
man weakness is so great, or the temptation 
so strong that none can or are expected to re- 
frain from all the Word prohibits or comply 
with all its requirements ; and even when fla- 
grant crimes are committed there is still lati- 
tude enough to lead to the belief that it could 
hardly have been possible to do otherwise, 
great allowance being due because of early 
education, the surrounding influences and the 
strength and power of the temptation, so that 
individual responsibility dwindles away until 
it is a mere nothing, and man is left as an im- 
becile from whom the temptation to evil must 
be removed out of sight and hearing. 

If but a very small part of the effort made to 
reform the world and subdue the increase of 
vice and crime were put forth to bring to light 
this hidden, Grod- given treasure, there might 
be hope of true religion gaining ground. 

But the mam work of reformation is to 
shield one class from temptation and to hide or 
remove the temptation from the other. But 
this is not Grod's order. Why did he place the 
forbidden tree in the most prominent place in 
the garden % Why did he who has control of 
all events allow the tempter untrammeled access 
to the presence of the innocent pair ? 

If they were without sufficient power to 



128 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

resist, God was unjust in his curse. If the 
temptation were greater than their strength the 
creation was faulty. 

If man in order to do right and keep God's 
law needs bracing up by pledges and associa- 
tions, badges and unions, then of course he 
has no ability in himself, and must, as a bowing 
wall or tottering fence, be supported by super- 
ficial props ; yet he remains the same unchanged 
spirit and nature,, though his outward life 
may be more respectable. But, resting on this, 
his prospects of ever becoming a true Christian 
are blighted and his certainty to be among the 
lost is inevitable. No greater harm could pos- 
sibly be done to the world. 

With man's responsibility gone or lessened, 
the restraints to sin are proportionally gone or 
lessened, and respect to God's law or fear of 
his punishment equally so. Therefore any 
teaching either directly or indirectly that makes 
any excuse for disobedience to God's commands, 
or palliates any sinful act, or covers over 
any deviation from the tightly drawn line be- 
tween obedience and disobedience by lessening 
its enormity, is more baneful to the soul than 
the grossest infidelity ; for affected by such an 
influence it is but an unavoidable sequent that 
the strict requirements of God's Word should 
be slighted and evaded, and then man presumes 
on the mercy of God for salvation. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DTOTKLE. 129 

Look at the delusion of believing in the ex- 
istence of a Supreme being, and yet treating his 
"Word as though he were an indulgent parent 
who promises punishment without an intention 
of performing it, and then condones the offense 
by excuses of inability to understand or per- 
form. 

Man's destiny depends solely and entirely 
on the use he makes of this ability. The prov- 
idence of God and the operations of his spirit 
compel him at last to a decision. For years he 
may waver between a choice of believing God' s 
Word is a law or an advice, and whether he 
will obey it or not. . 

But the circumstances in which he is placed 
and the convictions of his own conscience keep 
drawing his mind first one way and then the 
other. Halting, fearful, he may make a fatal 
mistake, and then, reassured by the influence 
and examples of the religious world, he swings 
back and forth until at last the decision i& 
reached. 

If he decides for God and continues faithful 
the result is a restoration to man's original 
spirit and nature, and a seat among the glorified 
throng at God's right hand throughout the 
ages of a never-ending eternity. 

If he decides against God he may have his 
good things in this life, but like the rich man 
will call for one drop of water to cool his- 



130 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



parched tongue, being tormented in a burning 
flame in the future world. 

If lie decides on a conservative course lie is 
the more fully rejected, being but lukewarm, to 
be spewed out of God's mouth. If he neglects 
to decide for G-od, although he makes no effort 
to do so, he as really decides against him, and the 
result is tribulation and anguish on earth and 
at the judgment the sentence, " Depart from 
me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for 
the devil and his angels." 

' ' The God of glory walks his round, 

From day to day, from year to year; 
And warns us each with awful sound, 
No longer stand ye idle here. 

"One hour remains, there is but one; 
But many a shriek, and many a tear, 
Thro' endless years the guilt must moan, 
Of moments lost and wasted here." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 131 



CHAPTER XII. 

SATAN. 

** And the Lord said unto Satan: Hast thou 
considered ray servant Job ?" 

Nothing created is useless, and even upon 
man in his rebellious state God displays his 
power; so Satan, once an angel of light, joined 
to his Creator in love, and having knowledge 
superior to man, is still of use to God as we infer 
from this Scripture. 

In his fall like man he retained the knowl- 
edge of his light and position, but lost his 
love, — the only bond of union between the 
Creator and the created, and the only principle 
of eternal right. 

At his fall in heaven, when he used his abil- 
ity in a wrong direction, having become dissat- 
isfied with his humble sphere and wishing to 
arise and be like God, this principle of love 
was changed to an opposite one as decided, as 
distinct, and as far-reaching as the original. 

As the first was God-like, the second was 
devilish; as the first sought the good of all 



132 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

created things, so the opposite sought their 
evil; as the first was peace, the second was war; 
as the first was everlasting joy, the last was 
everlasting grief. 

The nature of both of these elements is seen in 
man. Before he fell he loved his Maker' s voice 
and rejoiced to do his will. Afterward his con- 
fidence was turned to distrust, his love to fear, 
his open honesty to secret shame. Since then 
every unsaved soul is void of this right prin- 
ciple, and he only regains it at the expense of 
all that the natural life holds dear. When it 
is fully obtained by all the changes necessary 
to remove from the soul and spirit everything 
Satanic, then it governs and controls him, and 
his delight is again to hear the voice of God 
and do his will. 

Christ said: " Render unto Caesar the things 
which are Caesar's, and to God the things that 
are God's." Man's nature before the fall was 
like God' s and belonged to him ; after the fall 
it was like Satan's and belonged to him. 

Christ's sacrifice of himself for sin was a 
provision that man could make use of to dis- 
charge the claims of Satan and restore to God 
his original property, which is God's greatest 
desire of the human family and Satan's great- 
est fear; and no matter what man does, Satan 
is not displeased or uneasy unless he sees a 
move in the right direction to obtain this priu- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUXKLE. 133 

ciple; and God has no hope of regaining what 
was once his own, only when he sees a lawful 
effort to obtain it. 

Man may be faithful in all manner of good 
works, may lay house to house and field to 
field, may fill the civilized world with a profes- 
sion of Christianity, may send the same pro- 
fession to the heathen, may labor to build 
churches and found colleges, may work night 
and day to induce souls to love Jesus and trust 
in him for salvation, but Satan is not uneasy; 
he still holds his claim on the property; and 
God is not moved only in wrath, as all this 
effort brings no soul to him having the God- 
like principle of eternal right. 

But let a soul, I care not how mean his birth 
or how humble his station, decide in the heart 
to become a Bible Christian, and go to that 
sacred Word for direction and covenant with 
God to obey all its precepts, and the head of 
both kingdoms is all alive. God as he promised 
is near in loving anticipation, waiting the 
result, giving every help promised at every 
successive step. Satan leaves every other un- 
dertaking in the hands of subordinates and 
superintends this work himself. By sugges- 
tions to the mind to divert it from its purpose, 
by holding up the difficulties in the way, or its 
unknown, unnatural course, he strives to hin- 
der and at last destroys this right decision 



134 EXTEACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



made. He cares not what means lie makes use 
of, and his light and knowledge give him 
every advantage of the honest soul who knows 
not one step of the way, has no knowledge of 
Satan's devices, or of the crosses true religion 
enjoins. 

Let him continue on through all until he 
finds favor with God and begins to walk in his 
law; Satan will muster every evil spirit under 
his control, and stirs up every friend and neigh- 
bor upon whom he holds claim to aid in entic- 
ing, entrapping and destroying. If he still holds 
fast to his covenant relation with God, Satan's 
special attention is called, as to Job, and he 
will be stripped of his all, will be destitute, 
afflicted, tormented. But if he still endures, 
he waits for death to end his sufferings, in faith 
believing God will reward him, — when lo ! the 
design of it all is realized. Satan' s claim be- 
comes null and void ; grace has triumphed in 
the heart ; the atonement is fulfilled ; Christ is 
magnified and God receives his own. Satan 
comes and finds nothing in him ; he keeps him- 
self in this divine principle of eternal right, 
and the wicked one toucheth him not ; love fills 
his heart and all is well. What design has God 
in thus suffering his children to be so buffeted 
and harassed by Satan ? 

The first pair were untried, and at the first 
test of obedience proved unfaithful. God, 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 135 

looking at the ruin, said : "I will have a tried 
people. ' ' Therefore, although he promised the 
temptation should not exceed their strength, 
nor the trial his help, yet he leaves the world 
in the hands of their Master, and his children 
subject to his wiles, to test their obedience and 
the strength of their determination to become 
all he would have them. 

If in his wisdom he sees the trials are not 
severe enough to accomplish his purpose, then 
he calls Satan's especial attention to them as 
he did to Job. But Satan knew God had 
hedged Job about so that bounds were set for 
his temptations w r hich could reach only a pre- 
scribed limit, (proving God's protecting care 
over his children) ; and having, no doubt, al- 
ready used his best endeavors in this narrow 
sphere, God enlarged the bounds and gave Job 
into the hands of Satan, with but one restric- 
tion, that his life be saved. 

This record clearly shows God's design in 
the trials and afflictions of life. If in the face 
of every opposing influence man has not re- 
spect enough for God's law to take a course to 
escape its penalty, if he has not enough care 
for the salvation of his soul to break 
through every foe and resist every temptation, 
then he is unworthy of everlasting life and 
justly deserves the punishment he has chosen. 

If after he has tasted the love of God, and 



136 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

trials and persecutions come, just as God de- 
signed them and as he so forcibly declared in bis 
Word they should come, then if he prefers to 
turn again, because of these difficulties, to the 
weak and beggarly elements of the world and 
be in fellowship with bondage to it, he richly 
merits their society in the future world. 

Of what use is a soul to God who will not 
endure all things and be true to his vows ? Of 
what use is a soldier to his king who saves his 
life at the expense of his country, or who would 
desert the ranks in the day of battle? God's 
approval is upon none save those who endure 
without flinching every trial, and resist with- 
out wavering every temptation. 

When this sou] has been thoroughly tested 
on all sides, when having been put into the 
hands of Satan who has tried every device his 
knowledge can invent to move him, but in 
vain, Satan must, though reluctantly, give up 
the soul to God, who says of him as he did to 
one of old, " I know Abraham, he will com- 
mand his house after him." 

Without this process of temptations and 
trials, this test of obedience, what would God 
know of the usefulness of any man? Suppose 
he send an untried one on a message of life to 
some repentant soul. When well on the jour- 
ney Satan appears in the way and tells him of 
the rivers to cross, the mountains to climb and 



OF THE LATE GEORGE D TINKLE. . 137 

the enemies great and tall to overcome. With 
no experience of Satan's devices, with no 
knowledge of the promises, with his armor un- 
tried and his strength unknown, unless he is 
an exception to the general rule, he would be 
like a raw recruit, turn his back to the enemy, 
and the penitent soul would have to wait for a 
more faithful messenger. 

Of all the works of Satan none are more suc- 
cessful than the use he makes of the Bible. 
He well knows it is God's will to man, and that 
"though heaven and earth may pass away that 
word will not until all be fulfilled," and that 
if he can only induce a disregard, an improper 
use or a misapplication of it, he has gained his 
object. 

His first effort is to have it disregarded by 
filling the mind with business in its various 
forms of social advantage and money-making ; 
or pleasures by its attractive entertainments of 
parties, theaters and excursions, books, music 
and sight -seeing, until the mind is on one con- 
tinued stretch from childhood to the grave. 
Every hour of the day is spent in expectation 
or realization. The few hours of the night ex- 
empt from sleep are spent in planning for the 
next day. 

If death of friends or neighbors stops for a 
moment this career the effect is but as a pebble 
dropped in the water, which causes ripples for 



138 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

a moment and then all goes on as before. So 
there is no time to think seriously of those all 
important truths by which the soul must be 
judged in the final day. 

Those whose minds or dispositions are such 
as not to be attracted in this way, but who are 
thoughtfully inclined, who read the Bible and 
study and reason about its truths not for profit 
but for entertainment or a means of argument, 
Satan gives wonderful light, and they will see 
from its teachings Calvinism, Universalism, 
Unitarianism, or some other ism, all proven 
from its sacred teachings; and he will not need 
to incite such to anything farther, as no power 
can convince them of their errors until the 
judgment scenes take the veil from all eyes. 

Among those who profess the Christian 
name, who depend on their leaders for light and 
instruction, without a thought of individual 
responsibility, he need do but little only to see to 
it that they continue to believe what they hear 
without questioning, which they are very like- 
ly to do as long as there are no crosses or per- 
secutions, and all the pleasures of the natural 
life are not seriously interfered with. But the 
leaders he must watch, as they are the bulwark 
of his kingdom, which would be all but depop- 
ulated if they should obey God's law. In 
every professed Christian land they are obliged 
by their profession and labor to have some re- 



OE THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 139 

course to tlie Bible ; but as long as he can keep 
in free circulation a sufficient number of books, 
expositions of obscure passages, commentaries 
that only give the historical explanations, hu- 
man theology, metaphysics, logic, and all others 
that go to make up a preacher's outfit, he does 
not feel particularly uneasy, at least when he 
takes into consideration all the good works, 
fashion following, music, and other entertain- 
ments now considered a necessary accompan- 
iment to the Christian religion. 

Then when he sees the truth misapplied, per- 
verted, evaded, and set aside, for the com- 
mandments of men, he has no more need of 
alarm, and he can say to-day of the Protestant 
churches as well as of the Roman Catholics 
and infidels, ' ' they are mine. ' ' Satan' s claim 
on the human family is valid ; they have his 
nature and spirit and do his work ; he uses his 
power as far as allowed to keep good his num- 
ber, and to bring back to his kingdom any who 
may have escaped. 

God has done all that is possible according 
to his law to rescue every soul from the sinful 
condition he is in by nature and practice. So 
man is between two influences, as is clearly 
seen by Scriptures, especially in this: "And 
he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing 
before the angel of the Lord, and Satan stand- 
ing at his right hand to resist him." God ia 



140 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMOX3 

striving by his spirit and drawing by his love to 
a recognition of his Word, and Satan striving to 
prevent it. It depends wholly on his own de- 
cision and course which he will follow. Satan 
cannot hold him if he wills otherwise ; nor can 
God coerce him ; so he is left to decide his fu- 
ture abode by his course here in time. 

When the last tribunal is set he cannot say 
that all that was possible for his salvation was 
not done. If he finds himself on the left hand 
he must admit it is just. 

' 'From thrones of glory driven, 

By flaming vengeance hurl'd, 
They throng the air and darken heaven. 
And rule the lower world." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 141 



CHAPTER XIII. 

CAMP-MEETING INCIDENTS. 

"Then if any man shall say unto you, lo, 
here is Christ or there, believe it not." 
• "For there shall arise false Christs and falsa 
prophets and shall shew great signs and won- 
ders, insomuch that if it were possible they 
shall deceive the very elect." 

I attended a holiness camp-meeting conducted 
by that great Methodist Episcopal general — 
Inskip— assisted by all the leading lights of 
that vast body of professing Christians, for the 
purpose of finding if possible a divine influence 
or Scriptural instruction. My mind was un- 
biased, and I really hoped I might find as many 
righteous persons as Lot plead for, to save the 
city from the fierce anger of the Lord ; and at 
such a meeting, especially appointed for the 
highest attainments in grace as taught by that 
church, I knew I should find the best instruc- 
tion and the deepest testimonies in the body. 

Arriving on the grounds at the close of the 
afternoon service I walked around. 

Having been converted at a camp-meeting a 
number of years before where all was simplicity, 



142 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

I was much astonished to see many of the lux- 
uries of home life carried out here. Parlor, 
dining-room and kitchen, carpets, couches and 
servants, easy-chairs and camp-stools. I could 
hardly believe I was in God's forest, where 
people came to seek salvation, but rather where 
society people had gathered for recreation and 
pleasure. But as this implied nothing vital, per- 
haps, I waited for the meeting. 

At the ringing of the bell they poured out 
of the tents in swarms, and hundreds gathered 
to hear instruction on how to escape hell and 
gain heaven. 

The great leaders began the exercises by sing- 
ing the hymn, u O, that my load of sin were 
gone." 

I saw many eyes fill with tears as though it 
were the language of the heart. 

The vast concourse of people all joined in 
that glorious hymn that has brought many sin- 
ners to their knees crying for mercy, and be- 
lievers have been sanctified by its truths, and 
its melody brought a soul- inspiring influence 
upon the whole congregation. At its close 
there followed a scene I shall never forget so 
deeply did it impress me. 

The leader spoke with great earnestness and 
eloquence for a short time, inspiring an interest 
in all hearts few men are ever capable of doing. 
He spoke of the Savior, what he had done 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 143 

for the world in giving his life a ransom for 
sinners, and how indebted all mankind were to 
him; of his love for Jesus, that his life was 
being spent in saving souls, and that none ought 
to slight his love by unbelief. 

He paused a moment and then said : " This 
is a camp-meeting for holiness. There are 
many here who are not wholly the Lord's, and 
who have come to this meeting for the express 
purpose of becoming so. Now all in this con- 
gregation who love Jesus say aye." 

Almost the entire congregation responded. 

How many of you desire to be wholly the 
Lord' s and go home rejoicing in a free and a full 
salvation ?" 

The multitude cried, "Aye, aye." 

" God's time is now," said he, "and it takes 
him but a moment to speak the sanctifying 
word. Every one of you may go to his tent 
from this meeting sanctified soul, body and 
spirit, if yon will consecrate yourselves to God 
and believe his promises. While we sing ' There 
is a fountain filled with blood,' let every one 
who desires to become holy make this conse- 
cration : 6 Lord, I give myself to thee. I lay 
my all upon thy altar, soul, body, spirit, time, 
talent, money and influence, for time and eter- 
nity.' " 

While they sang many heads were bowed 
and all eyes were closed in prayer. The inter- 



144 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



est kept steadily rising at every successive step. 
The words of the leader like magnetism charged 
the whole concourse of the people with an en- 
thusiasm that I never saw equaled. 

"]STow," said he, "have you made the conse- 
cration?" "Aye," came from many in the 
congregation. £ ' Will you believe God' s prom- 
ise to you?" "Aye, aye." "Are you upon 
the altar?" "Aye." "Soul, body, spirit, 
time, talent, money?" "Aye." "Without 
faith it is impossible to please G-od. The relig- 
ion of Jesus is a religion of faith; and God 
says: 'The altar sanctifieth the gift.' Can 
you believe it? Will you trust him? Does 
the altar sanctify you ? " 

A few feeble voices said, "Aye." He raised 
his hands toward heaven and with a voice that 
electrified all who heard it said : 6 6 And is this 
your love for Jesus ? Will you make God a 
liar ? Are there not more here who have all on 
the altar?" "Aye, aye," said double the 
number of voices. "Then be a true witness 
for Jesus, and don't be ashamed or afraid to 
let your voices be heard in his favor. How 
many of you are now wholly the Lord's?" 
"Aye, aye," went up from all parts of the 
ground. "Does Jesus wholly sanctify you ?" 
"Aye, aye," came from hundreds of voices. 
1 1 Are your doubts and fears all gone ? " ' 'Aye, 
aye." "Are you perfectly satisfied with Je- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE D TINKLE. 145' 

sus?" " Aye, aye, aye," arose like the sound 
of many waters ; and then, " Glory to Jesus J* 
came like a mighty wind from all those in the? 
pulpit and around it. They sang again, and 
the exercises closed to give place for a sermon. 

I retired to a tent, not caring to hear the ser- 
mon, and sat down to meditate on what I had 
heard. It was a new doctrine to me, never be- 
fore having seen or heard of the work of con- 
viction, consecration and sanctification carried 
on in such a wholesale manner. To say I was 
surprised feebly describes my feelings ; but I 
thought it best to calmly consider the matter 
that my conclusions might not be hasty. So I 
spent a good share of the night meditating on 
the Scriptures as compared with the new doc- 
trine. 

I saw it was true that it took God but a mo- 
ment to speak the life-giving word, and also 
that a consecration such as was described was 
a Scriptural requirement. But I had always 
supposed there must be conviction, crosses* 
separations and inward suffering to precede so 
great a change. But there had not been one 
word of instruction on any one of these points, 
nor, indeed, that any change was implied or 
expected in what was gone through with. 
Women of fashion, many of them, as was evi- 
dent from their apparel, and men of question- 
able morals, and lacking in plain honesty, were 



146 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

all classed together with the sincere in one 
general mass, who by this new process were 
wholly sanctified. 

When the sermon was over I saw many going 
to their tents chatting gayly as though they 
had been engaged in no unusual business. 
Not a serious countenance did I see among 
them all, and to all appearances every one was 
in reality just what they were previous to this 
new sanctifying process, only determined to be 
more zealous in church work. 

What is this easier way of salvation ? Is it 
not a wide gate to let many in ? Is it not a 
broad way ? None are instructed to lay aside 
the world and its respectable amusements. 
None are required to make a separation from 
sinners. None are taught to hate father, 
mother, wife, children, brethren, sisters, and 
life. None are warned against false prophets 
who teach a way from earth to heaven, but not 
the narrow one, and a gate to enter it, but not 
the strait one. None need expect from this 
teaching any inward change. 

What are these leaders doing? Surely not 
following even remotely the Savior's teachings. 
Are they not daubing these souls, many of 
whom are no doubt sincere, with untempered 
mortar % Is it not climbing up some other way 
than that laid out by God's Word? If it is 
not God's way then it is Satan's who inspired 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUKKLE. 147 

some one, or many, a little at a time, to invent 
this shorter, easier route to avoid the cross and 
persecution of the narrow one, and so to de- 
lude souls that he may still retain his claim, 
and so secure them all at last. 

But I still thought there might be some soul 
here different from the others, who, when it 
came time for testimony, would show that all 
did not subscribe to this superficial course, al- 
though I could not see what possible object 
they could have in coming here, unless to con- 
demn this unreasonable and unscriptural teach- 
ing, so I waited anxiously for the morning 
love-feast, where all were invited to speak for 
Jesus. 

At its very beginning the great leader said: 
4 'Now, brethren and sisters, we want you all to 
speak for Jesus. But there are a great many 
here and all must have an equal chance ; so be 
brief. One sentence will be acceptable to Jesus, 
and will give time for all to testify." 

The speaking began, and with a very few ex- 
ceptions the testimonies were " I love Jesus 
and if any one attempted to say more he was 
checked or sung down. 

One very large man, whom I afterward learned 
was wealthy and influential, said : u You need 
not try to sing me down. I will speak for 
Jesus. I love him, and last night I consecrated 
myself fully to him and mean to be more de- 



148 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

voted to his cause." Many laughed at this, 
and the preacher said, "Amen! amen!" At 
times many were on their feet at once, all say- 
ing, ' ' I love my Jesus, ' ' at which the preachers 
laughed heartily. 

Toward the close, when the greater part had 
spoken and yet the time was not all consumed, 
more latitude was given, and there were two 
testimonies to which I wish to call special atr 
tention. 

A sad-looking, middle-aged woman, of plain 
but noble appearance, arose and said: "I 
came to this meeting to be benefited. I once 
enjoyed the love of God, but have lost — ' ' u Be 
brief, sister," said the leader. "X greatly de- 
sire to regain — " The leader began to sing, 
and the lady sat down evidently confused and 
grieved. After a moment she went to a tent 
where I saw her weeping piteously, disappoint- 
ed, discouraged, with none to give her one 
word of instruction as to how to regain what 
she lost. I thought it must be that her disease 
was not at all understood. 

After several others had spoken a young man 
arose, and with evident deep emotion said : "I 
am a preacher among you, but do not feel qual- 
ified to go on with my work without a deeper 
work of grace in my heart. I have been very 
much dissatisfied for sometime, and have come 
to this meeting on purpose to find holiness, 



OF THE LATE GKEOKGE BUCKLE. 149 

which, I believe, is the object of this gathering." 
The leader stopped him and began to ask him 
the questions in the prescribed course, the same 
as were used the night before. 

The young man hesitated long at those solemn 
questions, but the leader, seeing his craft was 
in danger evidently, held him either to a com- 
mittal or a rejection of the whole, and placed 
before him his influence on his church and all 
present if he refused to believe and acknowl- 
edge what was taught by the fathers of the 
church. 

The young man Anally gave a reluctant con- 
sent to all the questions except the last, " Are 
you perfectly satisfied ?" to which he replied, 
"I suppose I must say I am," but any one 
could see, if not willfully blind, that his heart 
was not in it and he sat down with a very sad, 
dissatisfied look and appearance ; but the leader 
said, " One more soul for Jesus," and his asso- 
ciates said, u Amen," and the meeting closed. 

On my way out of the throng I passed by a 
tent in which another meeting for testimony 
had been appointed. Hearing voices I halted. 
The leader, a minister, said: " We will now 
listen with great pleasure to the experience of 

Brother M ." I waited, hoping that now at 

least I might hear what I had not heard; and 
surely I did, though it was far from what I had 
wished to hear. Brother M stepped out 



150 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMOJSTS 

and bowed low. A diamond pin glittered in 
the light, and a garnet ring showed plainly 
as he raised his hand gracefully to emphasize 
his words as he began his extraordinary testi- 
mony in a meeting for holiness. He had once 
been a drinking man and a tobacco user. 
Through all the struggles and vicissitudes of 
overcoming these habits he went, and at last he 
said, "I am now a free man." 

Many responded heartily at intervals during 
the half hour's talk, and at his last remark 
there was a unanimous response of "Amen." 
Xot one word was said on the subject of relig- 
ion and no inference could be drawn from his 
remarks as to whether he was an Atheist, Mo- 
hammedan or Jew, but from the interest and 
joy manifested I might have supposed he was 
one of Christ's flock returned, instead of a 
reformed drunkard who attended church and 
paid liberally. 

Well, I felt by this time it was proper to 
again pause for meditation. I had come here 
to see if there was anything left in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church that was Scriptural. 
I must throw the Bible away if I conscientious- 
ly called anything I heard as instruction right. 
I must place in its stead the commandments of 
men if I believed there was anything to ap- 
prove. Jesus, whom they all claimed to love, 
said : "If any man love me he will keep my 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 151 

words." Not a woman who testified, to my 
knowledge, but violated the Scriptures by even 
their apparel, without reproof. A child or a 
profane man might truthfully say, "I love 
Jesus," meaning a respect, a sympathy, and 
an admiration for his self-sacrificing sufferings 
in behalf of the world, but without a thought 
of keeping his words ; and there was no in- 
struction on the poiut, so that they all loved 
him in that way. Neither was there any in- 
struction on conviction, confession, separation 
and obedience to the Word, so clearly defined 
by the Savior. The only confession I heard 
attempted was silenced, and no truth was 
taught as a necessity only to believe, — and be- 
lieve what ? that they were sanctified without 
a change. 

As I compared all I had heard, one thing at 
a time with the Scriptures, I felt as David did : 
" Do not I hate them that hate thee ? and am I 
not grieved with those that rise up against 
thee ? I hate them with a perfect hatred. I 
count them mine enemies." 

Where will you find a doctrine or work that 
deludes souls in such a wholesale manner? 
Intemperance and vice send souls to hell unde- 
ceived ; but here are souls who ask a fish and 
receive a serpent ; who ask an egg and are of- 
fered a scorpion ; and if they hesitate to take 
it are taunted with unfaithfulness to the teach- 



152 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



ings of the church, and are compelled to say 
they are warm when they are freezing, and sat- 
isfied when they are secretly starving and dare 
not let it be known. 

This church is filling up its cup of delusion 
to the very brim, and will in the end get a full 
reward. The leaders are all natural, unchanged 
men, who are not now living in the enjoyment 
of the first principles of grace, but who deal out 
to the masses in one solid dose what is labeled 
" Salvation," but that which is more poisonous 
to the soul than the serpent's bite or the scor- 
pion's sting to the body. This is a sight to 
cause demons a feast of thanks ; and Satan can 
truthfully say : ' i The professed world is mine. 
They no longer look to the law of Gf-od, but to 
the leaders, and the leaders are mine own. 
They do my bidding, some heartily, some be- 
cause influence overpowers them, and some be- 
cause I have blinded their eyes ; but all who 
have any confidence in them, or are affected by 
them, have my mark, and I know them. They 
say the world will soon be converted, and so it 
will. It needs little watching, they are all 
mine." 

I looked at Roman Catholicism. Forages 
she has been the 14 Mother of harlots and the 
abomination of the earth." She left the Bible 
for the teachings of men. How far behind her 
are tin- Protestant churches of to-day ? They 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DU]N T KLE. 153 

are widely different from each other, I admit. 
One man may be a thief and another a mur- 
derer ; because they are different is no evidence 
that either is right, or that one is more near- 
ly a Christian than the other. Both are trans- 
gressors of the law of God, and by it stand con- 
demned, and if unchanged will find their future 
abode in hell. So with the great Popish body 
and the Protestants. One takes one course 
prescribed by Satan and condemned by God's 
law. The other takes another course prescribed 
by Satan and condemned by God' s law ; and 
inasmuch as the Protestants claim the Bible as 
their foundation and rule of practice, and the 
Catholics the tradition of the fathers and the 
voice of the Roman pontiff, w r hich in the final 
day will receive the greater condemnation for 
disregarding God' s law ? 

I was told that among the seceders from the 
Methodist Episcopal church I might find vital 
religion. So I heard of a holiness meeting in 
which both Wesleyan and Free Methodists 
united, which I attended. 

As I went in the Free Methodist leader was 
speaking with a loud voice and great physical 
effort. There were some fervent responses, but 
he did not seem satisfied, and at length paused 
and said: " Brethren, there is something 
wrong here. The Spirit has not free course. 
Come, now, and let us kneel down and conse- 



154 EXTRACTS FKOM THE SERMONS 



crate ourselves anew to God, that Ms blessing 
may be upon us." 

They began to pray at the top of their voices 
as though God were deaf or on a journey. Af- 
ter a time there was a series of bodily exer- 
cises, ludicrous enough to cause a smile if not 
connected with so serious a subject. Jumping 
and screaming, running back and forth through 
the aisles, slapping the hands, crying and 
shouting, until exhausted with the effort many 
fell to the floor. 

The leader, delighted, said it was the power 
of God. But what this power accomplished in 
any heart I could not find out, though I listened 
eagerly for a Scriptural testimony of a change. 
I looked around ; the women were plainly clad, 
without ornaments, which was certainly com- 
mendable ; but that does not bring an inward 
change. Not one present testified to the re- 
moval of the depraved nature or light on any 
point, or of the necessity of keeping God's 
law, although a great deal was said about holi- 
ness and sanctifi cation. 

At the close of the meeting they all knelt 
and consecrated themselves again, and I won- 
dered if they had so soon broken their vows of 
but an hour before ; but found upon inquiry it 
was like the Romish works of supererogation, 
not because of necessity, but to please God 
with an offering of more than was duty to se- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 155 

cure his favor. Of course I had not the least 
Scriptural ground for confidence that God had 
any children here ; but a Wesleyan sister with 
whom I was staying urged me to hear their 
leaders and I would be convinced that in her 
church there was real Holy Ghost religion. A 
sister evangelist was leading the meeting, and 
the first thing I heard was : " Brethren and sis- 
ters, if .we expect God's help in this meeting 
we must consecrate ourselves anew to his ser- 
vice." More orderly, and less enthusiastic, 
but a dye of the same color as those who led 
the evening before, they all joined in her fer- 
vent consecration anew to Gk)d and implored 
his help. 

The preacher then made a few studied re- 
marks, among which were these : "I care not 
what church a man belongs to, nor what he be- 
lieves if his heart is only right. To all who 
desire full salvation we extend a helping hand ; 
but women must lay aside their jewelry, their 
ruffles, and their feathers ; and the men must 
give up their tobacco, as no unclean thing can 
enter the way cast up for the redeemed of the 
Lord to walk in." 

I silently compared these remarks with these 
Scriptures : ' ' My sheep hear my voice and they 
follow me. ' ' " Now do ye Pharisees make clean 
the outside of the cup and platter ; but your 
inward part is full of ravening and wicked- 



156 



EXTRACTS 



FROM THE SERMOXS 



ness." "If ye believe not that lam he, ye 
jshall die in your sins." Christ is the Word, 
and if it matters not what is believed, of what 
use are the Scriptures at all \ but I waited. At 
the close of his remarks they sang some sense- 
less repetitions of the cleansing blood, during 
which the evangelist was talking with a woman 
gaudily dressed and ornamented with many 
pieces of jewelry. The woman was weeping, 
and at the close of the singing knelt for prayer. 
The evangelist remained by her side instruct- 
ing her. I did not hear what was said, as more 
than a dozen were praying, but soon the woman 
took off her jewelry and gave it to her and 
then she shouted, £ 1 Glory to God, another soul 
saved for Jesus ! " to which all responded, and 
again sang a song of praise, after which were 
several testimonies. This woman said : "I de- 
sire to lead a Christian life," but not one word 
did she say of a change of heart, sins forgiven, 
or a preparation to die. Yet the evangelist had 
said she was " saved for Jesus," and the whole 
congregation had said "Amen." 

An intelligent looking man said: " I desire 
to be wholly the Lord's. I am a merchant and 
one of my articles in trade is tobacco. If that 
is all that keeps me from becoming pure in 
heart I will make a bonfire of the whole stock 
to-morrow, and I will never buy or sell another 
pound. I think my soul of more value than 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUJSTKLE. 157 

the gain I receive on tobacco. ' ' There was a 
jubilee of "Amen !" and "Glory to Jesus!" at 
this testimony. 

An aged, sober looking man arose and said : 
" I am not satisfied with myself. I have many 
evil things in my heart I wish were not there, 
but I know not how to get rid of them.' 3 
66 Brother, ' ' said the evangelist, ' ' have you con- 
secrated yourself to God with all you have and 
ever hope to be?" "I have as well as I know 
how," he replied. "Dare you not step out 
upon the promises of God and claim them?" 
"I do not feel prepared to do so," he sadly re- 
plied. " You need no preparation," she said. 
" Satan is holding you and you must break 
away from him and believe." Still he hesitate 
ed. " Brother, God says : ' Whatsoever things 
ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive 
them and ye shall have them;' can you not do 
that?" He shook his head. "Let us kneel 
and pray for this unbelieving one that God 
may help his unbelief." They prayed loudly 
and earnestly, but the man was as unbelieving 
as ever. He evidently needed instruction and 
did hot get it because she knew not the nature 
of his trouble. I was glad to find one in all 
my searching who would not be committed to 
this abominable way of deluding souls by hu- 
man rules who are unprepared to believe any 
promise because the conditions are uncomplied 
with. 



,158 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

They made another consecration, that most 
senseless and unreasonable thing I ever saw 
intelligent human beings continue doing. 

The meeting closed with these remarks : c 'Let 
to morrow be a day of prayer for these souls 
(mentioning several names); at six, nine, twelve 
and three o'clock we will all unite in supplicat- 
ing a throne of grace in their behalf, and if 
possible bring them into the fold of Jesus." 

Well, I failed to find the vital religion I was 
looking for, or the difference between these 
churches and their Methodist Episcopal mother 
as far as God' s law or a Scriptural experience 
is concerned. From the stream I should say 
they all drank at the same fountain, and I am 
compelled honestly to sum them all up in this 
way : With preaching by rule, praying by rule, 
singing by rule, and believing by rule, the Holy 
Ghost is as totally rejected as though he had been 
lost from the Godhead. The souls thus begot- 
ten are machinery-made and bring praises to 
their maker, but a stench to Almighty God. 

The churches of these United States of Amer- 
ica are led by false prophets who say, u Lo, 
here is Christ. We have the true way;" but 
not one of them teaches the " strait gate and 
narrow way," and why? Because they them- 
selves are machinery- made preachers, and are 
not qualified by the Holy Ghost to teach the 
meaning of the Bible to the unsaved. Physi- 



OF THE LATE GEOEGE DUNKLE. 159 

cians of no value, they do not understand the 
disease of the spiritual nature, nor the truths 
applicable to remove it. If the people would 
stay entirely away from this false religious in- 
fluence, read, ponder and obey their Bibles at 
home, more souls would find saving grace and 
escape an endless hell. 



160 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE. 

u Woe unto you lawyers, for ye have taken 
away the key of knowledge : ye entered not 
in yourselves, and them that were entering in 
ye hindered." 

The knowledge of sin is by the law ; and the 
knowledge of the law is by the Holy Ghost. 
Without his power and work on the human 
heart the plan of salvation, conceived by God 
before the foundation of the world, and carried 
out by Christ in his sufferings, death, and res- 
urrection, would be but a dead letter, without 
utility, and inaccessible to man. 

Equal in wisdom, knowledge, and power, 
the three divine personalities are mysteriously 
united into one, and form Deity, or the triune 
God. Being equal in all things, all are en- 
titled to equal love and honor. 

The prevailing popular cry of ' ' love to Jesus' } 
is but a false profession of an idolatrous wor- 
ship; not in bowing down to wood and stone, 
but a false image in the heart. 

Jesus, to this profession, is a kind-hearted, 
loving friend, whose tender sympathies are so 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 161 

great as to lead him to die for man. Every 
kind act or manifestation of interest or affection 
is believed to come from the same sympathetic 
source; just as a tender hearted mother, un- 
changed by grace, is affected by her child's 
grief or suffering so as to relieve its distress 
even at the sacrifice of a needed correction. 
This idol, as of a sympathizing friend who died 
to save them, is set up in the heart, loved 
and worshiped, sung about, prayed to, and 
labored for, to add numbers to the same adora- 
tion; while the real object of the atonement 
Is overlooked or ignored, and the words of the 
real Savior of mankind are cast aside, or mis- 
applied, so that these idol worshipers do not 
even pretend to keep them. 

In this age of the world especially, and in all 
ages to some extent, the third person in the 
Godhead is underrated or wholly rejected. 
Go into every church in this professedly Chris- 
tian land, and it is a rare exception if you find 
one soul who knows anything of such a being 
as the Holy Ghost. Certainly they ha ve read his 
name many times ; have heard it spoken in the 
pulpit, in the prayer meeting, and in the bene- 
diction; but what acquaintance have they with 
him? What has he done for them? What 
knowledge have they of his work in the plan 
of salvation, and how much honor do they give 
him? 



162 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

In any of the churches, when a leader feels 
the need of light on any passage of Scripture, 
as aid in argument or as a means of instruc- 
tion to his congregation, to what source does 
he look for light ? Does he even think of look- 
ing to the Holy Ghost for it ? Does he not 
consult his library for the needed light ? Does 
he not dig and delve among the ancient Greek 
and Hebrew roots i Does he not search for ex- 
positions of the law by writers ancient and 
modern ? When he has found all he desires 
what has he obtained ? The commandments of 
men ; the reasonings of the human mind ; the 
opinions of those whose educational ad van t- 
* ages or intellectual powers gave a treatise on 
the point sought for. 

What Scriptural authority has he for this 
course ? Is this the means God prescribed for 
religious teachers to inform themselves of 
God' s will to man so as to be able to teach it ? 
Is it the way his meaning of the law is to be 
obtained? Would this being of infinite wis- 
dom, who procured the plan of salvation and 
executed it in Christ, leave its efficiency to the 
human mind? Would he leave his will con- 
cerning it unexplained, to be searched out by 
human effort? 

What created mind is capable of searching 
out the will of God when he has said : i ' For what 
man knoweth the things of a man save the 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 163 

spirit of man which is in him \ even so the 
things of God knoweth no man but the spirit 
of God." How then can any man find the true 
meaning of truth only by the Holy Ghost % 

But if all other aids were laid aside, what 
would become of the world? We admit all 
preaching and teaching would immediately 
cease because those persons calling on the Holy 
Ghost for light would find there was no commu- 
nication between them. Why is this, if true 
light be obtained from no other source ? 

God's will shows a divine arrangement in 
which the most perfect order prevails, and none 
<can obtain its light unless they observe its 
order. The first order to the laborer is to be 
partaker of the fruit ; or in other words, he 
must himself become saved first by the light he 
is to give to others, and the command is to him 
as well as to the rest of mankind, ' ' Seek first 
the kingdom of God and his righteousness." 

If this has been done and the evidence of it 
retained he will not lack for all the light neces- 
sary to do every duty and to discharge every 
obligation God makes known ; neither will he 
have need of recourse to the views and opinion 
of men. Indeed, he finds in God's law as re- 
vealed by the Holy Ghost all he needs for doc- 
trine, for reproof, for correction, and for in- 
struction. 

In the divine arrangement to make salvation 



164 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

efficacious to man, the office work of the Holy 
Ghost is as imperative as is the death of Christ; 
and no man, no matter what is his intelligence, 
education, or reasoning powers, can obtain one 
ray of light or receive any benefit from the 
atonement only through this channel. This is 
the key of knowledge This is the means of 
understanding the divine law. This is the only 
way to Christ, - the door. ' ' He that climbeth 
up any other way the same is a thief and a 
robber." 

No wonder a woe was pronounced upon the 
lawyers. These men were the expositors of 
the law, the guides to the spiritual meaning of 
God's will to man. No wonder this woe was 
more extensive upon them than to any other 
class. It was not on their own account alone 
that this awful woe was given, but the honor 
due the Holy Ghost was denied by them, and 
those who would have received the light of the 
Holy Ghost and would have been led by it were 
hindered by them from so doing. 

It is the same to-day. These spiritual law- 
yers lead the people to the works of man for 
light instead of the Holy Ghost, and then to 
show reverence to Deity make an idol in the 
heart, of Jesus, to hold forth as a sign of their 
faith in the true God. 

What regard do you suppose Jesus has for 
all this adoration of him when the Holy Ghost, 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DTOKLE. 165 

whose baptism lie commanded a tarrying for, 
is rejected ? What pleasure has he in the thou- 
sands of testimonies to his love when the Holy 
Ghost, whom he said should lead into all truth, 
is set aside and forgotten for the productions 
of the human mind % What glory does all the 
good works for the elevation of mankind, for 
the enlightenment of the heathen, for the refor- 
mation of drunkards and outcasts, for the sal- 
vation of souls, bring to him when the only 
means of any good to the human family is in 
the Holy Ghost, an unknown, disregarded 
being, considered well enough, but useless ; 
not especially hated, but let alone % 

His first work in man is to give a knowledge 
of sin by a knowledge of the law. If the law 
had not said, "thou shalt not steal," who 
would have known it was a sin against God to 
be a thief? If the law had not said, u thou 
shalt have no other Gods before me," who 
would have known the necessity of worshiping 
only the true one ? 

This knowledge of the law is the first ray of 
divine light to the heart, darkened by its sinful 
, state and by transgression. It comes unasked, 
unsought ; he shows the sinner his true condi- 
tion as explained by the law and the future 
punishment awaiting him, if unforgiven, as 
shown by the same, and then leaves him to de- 
cide whether he will obey the law by repent- 



166 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

ance, confession and faith, or continue on dis- 
regarding it. If he decides to take the latter 
course the Holy Ghost can only hold the same 
lawful claims before him, which will impress 
him less and less forcibly, as they are cast aside 
until they have no more force with him, and he 
dies calmly, with no convicting influence to dis- 
turb his slumbering spirit until he awakens in 
eternity. 

If he decides to seek the forgiveness of his 
sins the Holy Ghost takes him into a special 
charge ; he gives him true repentance that 
needeth not to be repented of ; he leads his 
mind to the right confession at the right time 
and in the right place, to a vow of everlasting 
obedience to God, and finally to just the right 
promise upon which to rest his faith, and then 
leaves him to continue to believe until the vir- 
tue of the blood of Christ contained in that 
promise is applied to his sins and they are for- 
given. 

The Holy Ghost now as a teacher begins to 
give him light. Truths have to him a mean- 
ing never seen or understood by the effort of 
the mind, and if he has spent nearly a lifetime, 
in trying to find out the true meaning of the 
Scriptures he finds himself as ignorant as Paul, 
and, like him, as the scales fall from his eyes he 
is amazed at his own foolishness in attempting 
to do what belongs to the Holy Ghost alone. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 167 

All the truths necessary, little by little, as 
the soul is prepared to receive and profit by 
them, is given to this obedient one and explained 
so clearly as to leave no reasonable room for 
doubt. These truths being believed and obeyed 
bring him into a union with the nature of God, 
and frees him from everything that would hin- 
der the perfect communication of God's will to 
his heart. 

This soul is now useful to his Maker, and is 
prepared to be a missionary to the heathen, to 
preach the gospel to the civilized, to reprove,, 
to rebuke, or exhort, to bean apostle, a prophet, 
a teacher, or a worker of miracles, or to sit at 
the Master's feet useless, as far as can be seen 
by the natural eye, but chosen of God and 
precious to him. Now that grace has thus 
subdued and changed him, of what further use 
is the Holy Ghost to him ? Though he is pre- 
pared to do all these works or any one of them 5 
unless he wishes to take himself out of this 
glorious state of union and fall again into sin, 
which he is not at all likely to do, he will not 
suffer a desire, nor make an attempt to do any* 
thing, but he will sit in silence, trustingin God 
and meditating in his law day and night. 

His position is one of subjection and he knows 
u all the good there is done in the earth the 
Lord doeth it." His works are now to be 
wrought in God, and he only moves as moved 



168 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

upon, so that whatever is the will of the Father 
is brought to his mind by the Holy Ghost who 
leads him in its execution. 

This soul needs no commandments of men by 
which to preach the gospel. If he is led by the 
Holy Ghost to teach the way of salvation he 
receives the heavenly message from him, and is 
but a medium of communicating to the world 
God's will to man. He is not uneasy to en- 
large his sphere of usefulness, being satisfied to 
do God's will. He is not troubled about the 
conversion of sinners, knowing that does not 
depend on his effort. If he be led to preach he 
does it as of the ability given, but has no anx- 
iety as to its result. If multitudes flocked to 
hear him he is as unconcerned as though he de- 
livered his message to but one soul. If none 
receive it he is still unmoved, having done the 
will of God. Whether he is led to do much or 
little he is equally well pleased, as all is in the 
will of God. He is not among the class who se- 
lect certain objects or persons for which to pray. 
He well knows God cannot convert any one 
against his own free will, and he is warned 
against using vain repetitions as the heathen 
do, and he reads of praying in the Holy Ghost, 
so. if led by him when he prays, he does not 
fail of an answer. 

He remembers the prayers of the whole na 
tion offered publicly and privately for months 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 169 

for the recovery to health of a ruler cruelly 
wounded by a wretch craving notoriety, yet he 
died, showing their prayers were not inspired, 
nor according to the will of Grod. 

He hears of professed Christians who are 
themselves unsaved persons praying for a re- 
vival, and when it conies there are additions to 
their numbers of such as have no more vitality 
than those who prayed for them, so he prays, 
"Thy will, O God, be done in me, through me 
and by me," and continues waiting on the Lord. 
He is like a tree planted by the rivers of water ; 
he bringeth forth fruits in their season, and 
whatsoever he doeth prospers. 

Not so with those who have taken away 
the key of knowledge. Having rejected the 
only true help, they try many ways and 
means to find out the truth which is revealed 
to babes but left in parables to them. Year in 
and year out they study to understand what 
they never can in that way. Wearied with 
this excessive mental strain they continue to 
labor to build up their churches by novel en- 
tertainments, by striking headings to their 
discourses which they have prepared by days 
of study and research, music to please the ear, 
and extra meetings for the salvation of souls, 
in which prayer is fervently offered for special 
things and special persons. This effort never 
ceases, and these heavy burdens grievous to be 



170 EXTRACTS FKOM THE SERMONS 

borne are bound so tightly that truth can find 
no place in the heart. When the final summing 
up comes, one class will say : "Lord, thou gav- 
est me thy word, and I have kept it, lo ! here 
is thine own with use. ' ' The other class will say, 
if truthful, "I took away the key of knowl- 
edge ; I prophesied in thy name ; I helped to 
build all these churches ; my effort added all 
these numbers to the church record ; my labors 
sent these missionaries to the heathen to bring 
them into the same way of serving thee ; I 
taught my people to 'love Jesus, 5 but I have 
no acquaintance with the Holy Ghost." 

Grod, in his wisdom, will give the rewards to 
each that are consistent with his laws. 

" Conie, Holy Ghost, for moved by thee 
The prophets wrote and spoke ; 
Unlock the truth, thyself the key, 
Unseal the sacred book." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



171 



CHAPTER XV. 

RIGHTEOUS AND UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGING. 

" Judge not according to the appearance, butr 
judge righteous judgment." 

I am well aware that this wholesale condem- 
nation of the Christian profession given in the 
foregoing pages will be considered by many 
who read them as unjust and unscriptural. 

The portrayal of their teaching and practices 
has not been in any particular overdrawn or 
exaggerated. Indeed, the record comes short 
of the whole truth. I might truthfully go far- 
ther and tell of dishonesty and immorality 
cloaked over that would shame the political 
and social world, but I leave their exposure tc* 
the judgment scene. The incidents I have re- 
lated came under my personal observation and 
could be substantiated by many witnesses, and 
the teachings are public and known by all. 

I will now go still farther and prove that 
there is not a scripturally saved soul in any of 
these bodies. 

A soul saved by grace walks in the light as 
God is in the light ; not that he has the same 



172 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

degree of light as Ms Maker, who is the foun- 
tain of all light, and in whom is no darkness 
at all, but the light he walks in reveals to him 
all that it embraces in the same condition in 
which he is seen by God, or, in other words, 
what is revealed by his light he sees just as 
God sees it. 

Every saved person has in the heart a spirit 
of strict honesty, and when he sees an object is 
black he will not call it white ; if he sees it is 
white he cannot be induced to call it black for ' 
policy or to shield the sensitive feeling of any 
or to escape their frowns, so that whatever 
this light reveals he is obedient to and calls by 
its true Scriptural name. 

The truths of the Bible by which he has been 
begotten, which is now his meditation a#d de- 
light, is also his guide. If he goes into any one 
of the churches and hears the instruction, many 
things his honesty approves ; but when he hears 
something plainly contrary to the Scriptures 
his same honesty will not approve, even if it 
come from the highest dignitary in the body. 
He looks around and sees the doings of the 
professors, some things his honesty cannot help 
but approve and others are plainly and posi- 
tively condemned by the law of God. This is 
what he sees and feels. What is he to do ? 

Before he had saving grace he saw nothing 
wrong ; the teaching was all right, that is, the 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DU^ T KLE. 



173 



most part of it, and the practices, — well, they 
were customary, and perhaps innocent amuse- 
ments were not so very bad. When he turned 
to God with full purpose of heart to obey him he 
had to lay aside all these practices, and instead 
of looking to the teaching he had to go to the 
Bible ; queer if they were all right. Having 
become a Christian he walks in light ; his hon- 
esty says : " To the word and to the testimony ; 
if they speak not according to this word it is 
because there is no light in them. 5 ' Now, when 
he hears teaching not according to this word 
and testimony, and sees ways and doings con- 
demned by it, he, in his honesty, cannot say 
there is no harm in them. He cannot even oc- 
cupy a neutral position in his mind with refer- 
ence to them ; his honesty will allow but two 
ways, right and wrong, and all sayings and 
doings are either one or the other. 

But it is said : ' ' There are things indifferent, 
having no character." We admit it. A man 
may sit in his house and look out of his win- 
dow, it is an indifferent act; he may see his 
garden overrun with weeds; unless he cuts them 
down or digs them up his vegetables will be 
choked out and he will look in vain for the 
fruit of his labor in planting them. He may 
see his yard filled with ravenous beasts and 
poisonous reptiles, but his friends and neigh- 
bors will be poisoned and torn by them unless 



174 



EXTRACTS FRCni THE SERMOXS 



he that is securely housed within begins a war 
of extermination upon them; and these enemies 
will continue to multiply and increase until 
they eat through and tear down his own cover- 
ing and he also becomes their prey. 

It is said again : £ ' You cannot see the heart, 
and God is merciful and kind 5 and makes some 
allowance for human weakness." We admit 
the secrets of all hearts are known only to 
God. We admit also God's mercy and kind- 
ness, but we deny that he makes any allowance 
for sin in any shape or form. We also deny 
that he will show any leniency to any person 
which will conflict with his justice in dealing 
with the human family strictly in accordance 
with his revealed will, as shown in the holy 
Scriptures. 

"By their fruits ye shall know them," said 
the Savior. "Men do not gather grapes of 
thorns or figs of thistles." Fruit is the growth 
or production containing a seed the nature of 
which is the same as the one from which its 
own root sprang, and no matter how often re- 
peated, this same kind of seed will produce the 
same fruit containing the same seed. We may 
not see the root or the tree, but when we see 
the fruit, if we understand its name and na- 
ture, we can call it by its true name. So with the 
Christian religion: a profession with or with- 
out a reality is known by its fruits, which are 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 175 

shown by the words and acts of those profess- 
ing it. 

If we see the life consistent with the profes- 
sion and harmonizing with the Bible, that is, 
if all forbidden things are pnt away from the 
person and the place over which he has control ; 
if the spirit of meekness and patience is man- 
ifest; if honesty and morality characterize the 
daily walk, we have good reason, as far as the 
outward life is concerned, to say he is a Chris- 
tian. But this might be the case with one who 
made no profession at all, as with Paul, and also 
the rich young man who came to the Savior in- 
quiring the way to eternal life. It might also 
characterize the whole religious profession and 
yet there be no true religion in the heart. In 
the keeping of the outward law, though the 
Savior commended it as far as it went in the 
young man, yet he might be at heart a mur- 
derer as was Paul, and "no murderer hath 
eternal life abiding in him;" and in all this 
outward righteousness, which was the effort of 
the Scribes and Pharisees, and is the greatest 
effort of one class of professors, there might be 
no more vital godliness there than if the same 
rules were observed by an infidel or a Jew. 

If we seethe outward life lacking in con- 
formity to these Scriptures ; if we see a woman 
dressed as is condemned by them, her house and 
her children adorned contrary to its teaching ; 



176 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

if we see lier going from house to house gossip- 
ing and visiting, neglecting the training of her 
children and the duties of her household ; if 
we see a man engaged in business of a question- 
able character, overreaching in deal, grasping 
and taking advantage of the poor and helpless ; 
if we see him seeking protection, position, or 
gain by joining any secret oath- bound society ; 
if we see them both aiding by their presence or 
influence worldly entertainments of any kind, 
name, or nature, whether connected with a re- 
ligious society or among infidels or the pro- 
fane, we may fearlessly say, "they are not 
Grod's children." They may preach, pray, 
give alms, or their bodies to be burned, they 
are not Christians and have no claim to the 
Christian name. This fruit of the life we see 
is no sure evidence of vital religion. 

We will now see what is the fruit of the lips. 
"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
speaketh," and most people can control their 
actions by the power of their will much better 
than their tongues, which no man can tame. 
The trials of life, the continual annoyances of 
business, the sudden provocations to anger, will 
often prove a greater force than his self con- 
trol, and the fruit of the lips will show any- 
thing but a Christ-like character within. 

Yet, supposing he could by the most strenu- 
ous effort and the closest watchfulness so con- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 177 

trol himself and keep all evil thoughts from 
forming themselves into words, and every un~ 
scriptural word from passing beyond his lips,, 
yet it would be no positive evidence of a sinless 
heart. 

What then is the fruit by which positive, un- 
deniable proof is given of vital Holy Ghost re- 
ligion in the heart ? All the Scriptural outward 
evidences must be present and then the fruit of 
the lips. A testimony none can give only 
those who have it. It cannot be imitated or 
echoed. It brings forth an expression of the 
knowledge of truths hidden from unsaved souls, 
and no human mind can understand them or 
search them out . 

Light growing out of the inward change 
shines through the lips like a city on a hilL 
Declarations of a joy, a love and a confidence, 
attended with an unnatural power, come to the 
world, attracting an interest and an attention 
not felt from any other source. Every word is 
Scriptural, every testimony makes manifest 
truths, whose meaning is known only to him 
who has them in possession. Declarations that 
cannot be denied nor overthrown by the divine 
Word come as readily from this tongue as the 
song of a bird. He walks as the Scriptures re- 
quire, he lives as they enjoin, he speaks ac- 
cording to the Word, and the testimony and the 
persecution, affliction and opposition recorded 



178 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

and exemplified in the Bible follows. This 
soul has complied with the Scripture: "Seek 
first the kingdom of God and his righteous- 
ness." Having secured the salvation of his 
own soul he is prepared to reprove sin and aid 
other souls in the attainment of like precious 
faith. 

In every society there are croakers and f auit- 
finders who are constantly crying against the 
evils in the church, with just cause perhaps, 
but yet they offer nothing better as a substi- 
tute, and it matters not how severely they may 
have condemned it, at last, like a fault-finding 
Romanist, they will return to their true alle- 
giance and die in its faith. These had only 
selfish grounds for their disapproval, which 
did not grow out of light to see its condition, 
nor a duty felt to be enjoined by God ; and 
their condemnation is only a source of indiffer- 
ence or mirth to those who control the faith 
and practices of the body. 

These persons belong to the class the Savior 
addressed when he said: "Judge not that ye 
be not judged." "Thou hypocrite, first cast 
the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt 
thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy 
brother' s ey e. " Having nothing better to en j oy 
and knowing nothing better to offer, being in 
sin by nature and practice even as those he con- 
demns, his first duty is to himself ; if he sue- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 179 

ceeds in finding a way of salvation from his 
own sinful nature and ways he will be able, by 
the light of the way he traveled to obtain it 
and the inward experience realized, to see the 
true condition of those around him. 

The imperative duty of this soul, whose vital 
xeligion is shown by a blameless life and a 
Scriptural testimony, is to follow the Savior's 
example in doing the will of his Father. This 
will is revealed in the Bible. It is brought to 
his mind by the Holy Ghost. A living, moving, 
vital principle dwelling in the heart. He is 
actuated by these three witnesses to duty. 
Without the Word he could not discern the 
right spirit. Without the principle the Holy 
Ghost could make no use of him to benefit the 
world. 

We have the record of the prophets and the 
apostles. The work of all these began in a 
condemnation of the sinful state and practices 
of those among whom they moved. Nations, 
cities, societies and individuals, all came under 
the scathing denunciations of these holy ones 
chosen by God to communicate his will to man. 

The testimony of condemnation was intend- 
ed by God to shake confidence in the false 
way, as nothing can be done to benefit any one 
as long as there is faith in error. u As a man 
thinketh so is he." If he thinks there is no 
God he will never seek his favor until his views 



180 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

are changed. If he believes his leader is teach- 
ing him right doctrine he will never reject him 
as a false prophet unless he loses confidence in 
him. If he believes he is in the narrow way he 
will never seek any other unless his confidence 
can be shaken in the one he is in. So, as long 
as persons have confidence in their leaders and 
the leaders continue preaching false doctrine, 
so long they will remain united, but no human 
heart, unless past feeling, seared over and left 
to believe a lie, can be satisfied outside the true 
Christian religion. The natural element for 
the soul to move in and its only satisfying food 
is God's love, and without it a profession will 
divert and entertain it but cannot satisfy it. 

What is the right attitude and duty of every 
Scripturally saved soul concerning a false pro- 
fession of the Christian religion? We must 
look to Scriptural examples and commands for 
light, and not to the customs and teachings of 
the age, which stand braced against any meas- 
ures not harmonizing with the demand for uni- 
versal brotherhood. 

The attitude of the prophets and apostles 
was an unswerving position with G-od ; un- 
biased by favor or frown, uninfluenced by tem- 
poral prosperity, numbers, wealth, or popular- 
ity, unyielding in the face of proffered gold 
or the loathsome dungeon, the fiery furnace or 
the lion's den. Their voices were raised at 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DU^KLE. 181 

every proper time and in every proper place in 
condemnation of any disobedience to God's > 
law, — in worshiping or countenancing the gods 
of the nations around tltem, in not keeping the 
separation between the holy and the profane, 
and in not living up to the statutes and judg- 
ments of the Lord. In this condemnation the 
priests and leaders were denounced above all 
others. The Savior, whom this false prof ession 
idolize, was the great example to follow ; not 
an opportunity offered itself but that he 
improved it in condemnation, denunciation, 
curses and woes as great as could be given by 
human language on those leaders and teachers 
who were themselves disregarding (rod's law 
and leading the people in the same way of un- 
righteousness. 

Here, then, we have the Scriptural example of 
the prophets, Christ, and the apostles ; the 
commands are of the same nature. To the 
prophets God said : " When I say to the wick- 
ed thou shalt surely die, and thou givest not 
warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from 
his wicked way to save his life, the same wicked 
man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will 
I require at thine hand." 

John the Baptist called this class a generation 
of vipers and Jesus reproved him not. Christ 
said to his disciples : ' ' What I tell you in dark- 
ness that speak ye in light ; what ye hear in 



182 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMOJSTS 



the ear that preach ye upon the housetops.' 1, 
u He that taketh not up his cross and follow- 
eth after me is not worthy of me." If we re- 
fuse to follow him in his condemnation of false 
profession, how can we in his loving kindness 
to the penitent ? Again he said : " Yea rather 
blessed are they that hear the word of God 
and keep it." Paul commanded the unruly to 
be warned, and those who taught things they 
ought not to be rebuked ; and those that 
sinned to be rebuked before all that others 
might fear. He commanded Titus to speak 
sound doctrine, to rebuke all ungodliness and 
exhort to obedience with all authority, and 
commanded no man to despise him for so 
doing. 

Here are the examples and a small number 
of commands to show a Christian's duty; if he 
keep all the others and neglect these he is 
guilty of all. We will suppose this Christian 
man is in any one of the Protestant churches; 
his first duty is to tell them what God has done 
for his soul; the next duty is to let his light 
shine to them; this light that Christ spoke in 
his own darkened heart to awaken him to a 
sense of his true condition when sinning against 
God and traveling in the same broad way in 
which they are traveling ; this word spoken in 
the secret of his heart by which he sees their 
false teaching and profession, their unscriptural 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DOTKLE. 183 

ways and their union with the world; and fol- 
lowing the Savior's example, he will call them 
by their true Scriptural names — hypocrites^ ser- 
pents, generation of vipers, children of their 
father, the devil, adulterers and false swearers. 
If he refuses to take up his cross he loses his 
religion, and then they all become one. 

If he faithfully stands his ground and de- 
nounces these corruptions, these false teachings 
and unscriptural doings, how long do you think 
he will be received as a member in good stand- 
ing? How long will he have liberty of speech 
among them? How long before he will be 
waited on by the minister and leading men and 
warned to greater moderation ? How long be- 
fore he will be told his presence is not desired 
there, unless he will back down and be more 
considerate of the feeling of others ? 

Think you any minister will long endure to 
be called a false prophet? a wolf in sheep's 
clothing? a child of Satan? a hypocrite? Think 
you the quiet of any congregation will long be 
disturbed by a voice holding before all eyes 
their sins and iniquities, their licentiousness, 
their worldly conformity, their envy and their 
pride ? Think you they will receive kindly the 
message that they are all in the broad way % 
Think you they will in this or any other age 
hold still and bear it without reply? When 
the prophets faithfully warned, they were per- 



184 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

secuted and if possible killed. When the 
Savior did so, they hated him and persecuted 
him even unto death, their wrath being but 
slightly appeased when they nailed him to the 
cross. When the apostles did so, they were 
hunted like wild beasts of the forest, were im- 
prisoned, tortured, and murdered. We have 
the record of such a course and we have seen its 
history repeat itself in this age, in this land, 
as far as the laws giving freedom of conscience 
to all allowed. 

Do you think the lapse of time, forming the 
ages, changes human depravity or God' s law ? 
Do you think sin is any the less sin in the nine- 
teenth century than in the first ? Have Christ's 
words and the apostles' writings lost their au- 
thority and power because the time draws near 
ior his second coming ? If their condemnations 
are of less force their invitations and promises 
are equally so, and then of what use is the 
Bible but an aid to Universalism ? 

You now have my reasons for such a sweep- 
ing, unconditional condemnation of the Protest- 
ant churches of to-day, and also my grounds 
for declaring that there is not a Bible Christian 
in any of them. I know whereof I speak. I 
have gone by invitation into their meetings, by 
invitation have let my light shine among them, 
and by invitation either expressed or acted out; 
remained away because my testimony was re- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DOKLE. 185 

jected as heresy, although when I asked for the 
scriptures by which I was condemned there 
were never any given me. 

I have been in many public prayer and con- 
ference meetings to let my light shine where I 
was despised, rejected, and persecuted, because 
I would not " soften his truth nor smooth my 
tongue," and according to the Scripture, when 
I fled to another church I met the same recep- 
tion of the truth. I took Paul's course and re- 
mained in my own house, teaching those whom 
God sent unto me, and then the rage of the 
enemies of the truth knew no bounds only by 
the arm of the secular law. 

It is a falsehood to say that the age of perse- 
cution has passed. It is a false belief that the 
enlightenment of the masses is the reason there 
is no persecuting spirit among the churches. 
The plain, honest truth is, there is but one 
spirit and nature in them, and that is the spirit 
of the world and the sinful nature. True relig- 
ion is as much persecuted to-day as it ever has 
been, and it will continue to be until the end of 
time. All a Christian needs to know of any 
person to be certain God's woe is upon him is 
to know that all men speak well of him; and 
any man, woman or child who is received in 
these churches and has no persecution is grace- 
less. 



186 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XVI. 

MEANS OF GRACE. 

" For this is good and acceptable in the sight 
of God our Savior, who will have all men to be 
saved and to come to the knowledge of the 
truth." 

God, the Creator of man, who made a pro- 
vision for his restoration to his image and favor, 
by the death of his Son, wills the salvation of 
all, and makes use of everything connected with 
him in life to further this purpose. 

The varied dispositions of the members of 
the human family, together with the circum- 
stances surrounding them, which are controlled 
by Providence, are calculated to lead the mind 
to the service of the true God, and shows his 
solicitude in their behalf. Special events in 
life which come to all, if rightly used, would 
have a tendency to lead heavenward. Reverses 
in business, disappointments, accidents, sick- 
ness, death, and judgments, general and special, 
are all designed by the All- wise Being as a 
means of grace. If dividends fail, or crops are 
blasted, who thinks of God and humbly bear- 
ing it turns to him and lays up his treasure 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 187 

above % Does he not rather turn again with 
redoubled effort to make good the loss, perhaps 
to add to the hoarded store ? 

If disappointments meet the eager expecta- 
tions of the mind, who turns to that Friend 
who sticketh closer than a brother and changeth 
not ? Does he not rather turn to pleasure, dis- 
sipation or business to divert and entertain the 
mind that the past may be forgotten ? 

If accidents, sudden and mysterious, come to 
person or property, who yields penitently to 
the event and seeks a sure foundation against 
the time to come ? Does he not rather bravely 
but indifferently pass it along with the com- 
mon happenings to all mankind and study how 
best to repair the damage ? 

If sickness prostrates the feeble tenement of 
clay, who looks to the Physician of souls for 
medicine for the diseased spirit ? Does he not 
rather bend all his flagging energies and use 
his last inch of strength to employ the best 
skill, medicine, and hygienic laws to recover 
himself from the solemn warning to " prepare 
to meet his Grod V y 

If death, against whom there is no defense, 
enters and grief overwhelms the mind, with no 
where to go for relief, the heart softened by 
affliction might, if it would, turn to him who 
died for sin, for a preparation to enter upon its 
unknown mysteries, and find that which would 



188 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

rob death of his sting and the grave of its ter- 
rors. If general judgments are abroad in the 
land, or a special one strikes here and there, 
who lays it to heart and learns righteousness 
thereby ? Instead, where is that person, neigh- 
borhood, village, city or nation, but that, call- 
ing for relief from those who are not so visited, 
rises again from the direst calamity to pursue 
the same ungodly course ? 

Why is it that the events designed by God as 
a means of grace to the soul have no salutary 
effect ? Why is it that they are not even thought 
to be connected with God in any way ? Be- 
cause of the false religious teaching. In all 
these events which should be made use of to 
show God's design and man's obligation, pure 
and unalloyed sympathy is extended instead, 
showing the continued advancement toward 
Universalism, which is but one step behind 
Deism. 

Mr. C, a Universalist minister, said at the 
close of a discourse at the funeral of a sister : 
u When we come down to death's door, what do 
we need \ Sympathy, human sympathy from 
friends who stand around our dying bed." 

Robert Ingersoll said, after reasoning away, 
to his own satisfaction, the vitality of the Chris- 
tian religion : " What have we left as a neces- 
sary substitute ? The sympathy of the human 
heart." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 18& 

I attended the funeral of a man nearly ninety 
years of age, who had been successful in busi- 
ness, upright in deal, and his children were in- 
fluential in society. He had taken his daily 
drink at a neighboring saloon, and upon the 
slightest provocation was very profane. He 
was a believer in a God and true religion, but 
was not a church member, nor had he for forty 
years made any profession of religion. 

Two years previous to his death his physi- 
cian told him his disease was beyond the skill 
of man, and his death might occur at any time, 
yet he did not change his course. He took his 
daily walk to the saloon as long as strength 
permitted, and was profane almost with his 
dying breath. His greatest concern was mani- 
fest in his care of his money, which he kept in 
a side pocket and took out and counted when 
so weak as to be unable to replace it alone. 

When the time came for the funeral, as is 
usual, the coffin was strewn with flowers and 
the grave was lined with evergreens to relieve 
the awful solemnity of death, an event designed 
by God as a means to pierce all hearts with a 
conviction of what awaited them. 

Modern anthems of a senseless repetition or 
of a misguiding nature took the place of 

" Reflect, thou hast a soul to save ; 
Thy sins how high they mount ; 
What are thy hopes beyond the grave ? 
How stands that dark account ?" 



190 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

or some other that would have harmonized with 
God' s design in this dispensation of his provi- 
dence. 

The sermon began with this Scripture : ' c Lord,, 
thou hast been our dwelling place in all gener- 
ations." Very applicable had all present been 
Christians. There followed a eulogy such as 
is universal on like occasions. The romance of 
youth, the sterling business qualities, the ex- 
emplary virtues, the faith in a supreme being 
and the undoubted belief that in the final hour 
he prayed, were all held forth for the edifica- 
tion and exemplification of the friends who 
mourned his loss, but not without hope of a 
reunion in a better land. A few brethren in 
the ministry and church, relatives or friends 
of the deceased, gave a hearty but subdued 
u Amen!" occasionally. "How peaceful he 
looks, - ' said one. ' 6 1 know he was impulsive, ' ' 
said another, " but he had many virtues, and 
I believe he has gone safe." u God is mer- 
ciful, ' ' said a third, 4 c and it is better, far better, 
to turn the minds of the friends and neighbors 
heavenward, than to sin, death and the judg- 
ment." One, an outcast from society because 
his sins were publicly known, said : 6 ' If he is 
saved there is no God, no truth in the Bible, 
and no reality in the Christian religion, and I 
am as well off as any one," to which I assented. 

•Here was a means of grace designed by God 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUXKLE, 191 

for good. Man turned it to evil. All hearts 
were tender and yielding. Affliction and death 
had subdued the haughty nature and halted 
for a moment the course of the unthinking. 
The young and the old alike were held in si- 
lence before death and the grave. What an 
opportunity for the Christian teacher to send 
home to every heart the living truths of God's 
immutable word ! No other event in life is 
ever so favorable to the convicting influence of 
truth. There never comes a time when a prep- 
aration for the future is seen and felt to be so 
necessary. Any man whose duty it becomes 
to speak on such an occasion assumes the 
weight of the blood of every soul present when 
he turns the mind from God' s design to flowers 
and music, imaginary virtues and heaven. 
What is the inference drawn from such doings % 
That the dead man is now in heaven. What 
is the inference from such a discourse ? That 
this minister, who claims to be sent by God to 
teach the narrow way, and whose teachings are 
known, endorsed and received by the body of 
which he is a member, although knowing the 
character, ways and doings of the deceased, 
believes he is now in heaven. What is the in- 
fluence of this upon every mind % If this man, 
having some natural virtues and many openly 
known vices, unconf essed, unf orsaken, and un- 
forgiven, is saved, — if there is the least possi- 



192 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMOXS 

ble hope that he is now in heaven, all are safe ; 
none need repent or confess their sins, nor for- 
sake any sinful thoughts or ways ; all will reach 
heaven at last, no matter what they do. 

Can you not see this is Universalism under 
another name? If there is hope of a man, 
who, with death staring him in the face for two 
years, continues on in profanity almost to his 
last day on earth, who is not saved ? After 
having every opportunity to make his peace 
with God, a long life in which to read his Bible, 
its requirements, its future rewards and pun- 
ishments, being warned of the approach of 
death, as many are not, yet he was unrepent- 
ant ; none heard a word of confession of his 
sins, or regrets that he had not taken a dif- 
ferent course through life. But the preacher 
said, "Let us hope that he prayed," as though 
that was all he needed to do to prepare to die 
after nearly a century of sin. 

This is by no means an isolated case ; go rom 
one end of the land to the other and it is the same. 
Men are dying every day unprepared, and no 
man lays it to heart, because of the false teach- 
ing. Hell is almost an unknown word, unless in 
profanity, and its "worm that dieth not, and 
its fire that is not quenched" is scarcely be- 
lieved in by any one ; so far has human sym- 
pathy superseded the truths of God's Word, 
and all the events of human life are covered 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 19$ 

over by philosophy and vain deceit until God's 
design in them is wholly lost or totally rejected. 

Will not God be avenged on such a nation 
as this ? Will he not visit these churches 
whose teachers once thundered the terrors of 
the law and the vengeance of an offended God 
home to the hearts of sinners who quailed be- 
fore it ? Such teaching had a restraining in- 
fluence on the world ; every class of society 
felt it, and few dared break through and whol- 
ly disregard it. 

Now, with Universalism under cover, yet 
shining through the thin gauze of pretension 
to oppose its advancement, all restraint is down. 
Politicians feel the influence of a religious 
principle no better than their own. Rulers, 
whose duty it is to look to religious teachers 
for a pattern, see no justice, none required to 
live up to the church rules or Bible precepts, and 
feel at liberty to bend, wrest or disregard secular 
laws to court the favor or escape the frowns of 
the wealthy and influential. With God's law 
set aside and governmental laws also set aside r 
where will the end be ? Already the signs of 
the times are portentous. The judgment day 
is rolling on and God will be avenged. 



194 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XYII. 

SEPARATION. 

"For thou art a holy people unto the Lord 
thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be 
a peculiar people unto himself, above all the 
nations that are upon the earth." 

When God said to Adam, "In the day thou 
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, 5 ' the 
meaning was: "Thou shalt be separated from 
me;" and notwithstanding Satan's positive 
assertion to the contrary, so it proved. Man 
became an alien from God, — his native element, 
— lost or was separated from his holy, God-like 
nature, and became dead to his Maker. 

As we cannot yield to an influence without 
becoming like it, so man yielding to Satan, se- 
cured his image, and became alive to him 
whose ways are no longer hidden or mysteri- 
ous. The human heart, wicked as it is, under- 
stands the nature and source of all evil, but 
remains dead to God until changed by grace. 
The feelings of his heart, his desires and in- 
clinations, are all in an opposite direction from 
God's, and were it not for the rewards and 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 195 

punishments promised in a future world, none 
would make the effort to become changed. 
Like a boat floating with the current, no effort 
is required to follow every natural choice ; but 
the fear of hell being occasionally thrust upon 
the mind halts the onward progress and in- 
duces consideration. 

If the belief in God's Word was what it 
should be, every soul on earth would obey its 
precepts. If the teachings on this point were 
not so indefinite, so equivocal, so pointless, so 
tinctured with Universalism, many would turn 
to God and would not take up with a change 
of purpose, a feeling better, or "I love Jesus," 
but would seek until they found the living wit- 
ness of sins forgiven. Before he found this he 
would be required to make his first separation; 
— in leaving off his sinful practices and in for- 
saking his sinful associations. So far as the 
separation from the wrong extends, so far the 
union with the right is consummated. When he 
finds forgiveness his grace places him on the 
other side of the gospel line, where he finds 
Christ and all who are saved. His former 
friends, among whom he still kindly moves (for 
he is not taken out of the world), remain in 
the same place he left and are wounded at the 
lack of sympathy between them. The feelings 
of his heart are now moving in an opposite 
direction from theirs and there is no union, no 
oneness. 



196 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

This is the beginning of the spiritual separa- 
tion. To break it or lose it is fatal to saving 
grace, which, only is found on the side of the 
line which Christ and his apostles maintained. 

When by continued faith and obedience he 
reaches the Scriptural salvation of his soul his 
nature as well as his position is changed. 
Whereas he was alive to sin and dead to God, 
he is now alive to God and dead to sin ; he is 
separated from a sinful nature, and in spirit 
from all who are unsaved , and is united to 
God and to all who are saved. 

This outward separation is made by his 
obedience to the truth ; the inward separation 
is made by grace ; so that both in heart and 
life, in faith and in practice, he is on the 
Lord's side, with but a single taut line between 
the two opposite influences. This line is the 
great bone of contention between the world 
and the true church, between he who serves 
God and he who serves him not. 

Satan, the world, and graceless professors 
are constantly throwing out allurements and 
setting hidden traps fo break this line; but 
they have no power to accomplish this, its 
keeping being solely and safely lodged in the 
ability of the saved soul, who can keep it if he 
will in spite of all combined efforts against it. 

The keeping of this is the secret of the Chris- 
tian success. What was the trouble with the 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 197 

Israelites ? They were constantly stepping over 
this line and making affinities with the nations 
surrounding them. What was Ezra' s remedy ? 
" There is hope, but let it be done according to 
law;" and the separation was made even to 
the putting away of wives and children. What 
was the trouble with Jeremiah when he found 
Grod had forsaken him ? He had let down this 
separating line and God said: sC If tho*u take 
forth the precious from the vile, then thou 
shalt be as my mouth. Let them come to you 
but go not thou to them." What is the record 
of Jesus? "For such an high priest became 
us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled and sepa- 
rate from sinners." What is Grod's command 
to the world ? After speaking of every class of 
sinners it says: " Wherefore come out from 
among them and be ye separate saith the Lord, 
and touch not the unclean thing and I will re- 
ceive you, and will be a Father unto you, and 
ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the 
Lord Almighty." Where is the professing 
Christian who knows nothing of this separa- 
tion ? On the side of the line where are the 
unbeliever, the unrighteous, darkness, Belial, 
infidels and idolaters. 

Where is the professing Christian who, hav- 
ing once known this separation, now walks in 
harmony with those from whom he was once 
separated ? Among the backsliders who are 



198 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

living in a hollow, graceless profession. In- 
stead of standing to the truth the false teach- 
ing and the allurements of nature entrapped 
him, and now he is one with his own house- 
hold, his neighbors, the professed church, and 
the world. He is not rowing up the stream ; 
he is not obliged to fight against worldly de- 
sires or influences, and whatever his heart de- 
sires he can follow after without restraint. 

But is he received of God ? Is he a son ? 
Nay, verily heaven and earth may pass away 
but not the divine word. God receives none, 
only those who have made this separation ; he 
owns no one as his child but he who has thus 
obeyed him. Having lost this separation he 
may preach and pray, may see visions and 
dream dreams, and may do everything else the 
law requires, he is still an alien from God and 
graceless. He may get shouting happy, he 
may be blest seven times a day, he may antici- 
pate the joys of heaven : he is unsaved still ; 
the separation is gone, he is on the wrong side 
of the line. 

Ah ! to keep this separation required a con- 
tinual daily cross ; this afflicted you, and also 
others were wounded and grieved because of it. 
You loved them more than Christ ; you stepped 
over the line and went to them, but it was at 
the expense of your soul. You looked at your 
church relations, they were entertaining and 



OF THE LATE GEORGE PUJSTKLE. 199 

enjoyable. You knew there was no Scriptural 
vitality in the society, but the other course was 
persecuted and lonely, and you stepped over 
the line, choosing to go with the multitude to 
do evil rather than take this self-denying, 
cross-bearing way. But remember one thing : 
the souls you are in fellowship with here you 
will have for companions in eternity ; and the 
yray in which many travel is not the one which 
ends in heaven. 

At the judgment there are but two classes 
mentioned ; they are separate and distinct 
from each other. All those you have fellow- 
shiped here will be by your side. Leaders who 
taught you there were many ways to heaven, 
that the days of separation and persecution 
were past, who led you in the worldly enter- 
tainments forbidden in the Bible but practiced 
in the church, will also be with you ; and the 
way you are traveling in is certainly broad 
enough to take in what none of the apostles 
retained, and things that are forbidden by 
Christ ; yet every day you go away in secret 
prayer and tell him how you love him ; you sing 
that you love him, and testify that you love 
him, but your life, position and nature deny 
it. God will judge you by what you are and 
not by what you seem to be,— by the reality 
and not by the profession. 

This line of separation was what made the 



200 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

martyrs. The pagans, hoping to make their 
laws seem light and easy, only required the 
Christians to throw a little handful of incense 
upon the idolatrous fire. All who complied 
letdown the separating line and saved their 
natural lives, but lost the love of God and 
heaven. Those who refused this countenance 
to pagan worship suffered a martyr's death, but 
the sooner joined the blood- washed throng 
above. 

The heretics were required to recant and so 
escape the tortures of the inquisition. Those 
wiio kept the separating line were perfected by 
those inhuman tortures greater than the physi- 
cal being could endure, and the soul soared to 
the bosom of God. 

The religious teaching of to-day requires you 
to let down the separating line far enough to 
admit that there are a few real good Christians 
in every church. That is enough, yes, it is all 
sufficient ; your line is gone, you have the mark 
of the popular profession, but the reality of 
true religion is lost. 

What says Universalism ? " Every man is 
my brother ; we will all land in the same place. ' ' 
What say the churches? "These separating 
lines must come down ; we must be united ; we 
must have charity enough to fellowship all 
those who profess the Christian religion that 
the world may see that we love one another." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUJSTKLE. 201 

What says Jesus? "Nevertheless, when the 
Son of man cometh shall lie find faith on the 
earth?" What says Paul? "They profess 
that they know God, but in works they deny 
him, being abominable and disobedient, and 
unto every good work reprobate." 

Finally, without this separation there is no 
salvation, no usefulness, no right influence, no 
fruit unto holiness, no heaven. With it God's 
will is done in us to the perfecting of all the 
Christian graces ; through us to the convicting 
of sinners and the ungodly ; and by us to the 
upbuilding of his cause on earth. Without it 
friends may be fed and flattered by your nat- 
ural love, but you have no divine influence. 
With it friends will hate you, but they hated 
Christ before they hated you. Without it you 
are with the multitude on the left hand. With 
it you are on the right hand, and although the 
number is not large, it is strong and mighty in 
wisdom, purity and grace, and it will help to 
swell the anthem of David : "The Lord taketh 
pleasure in his people ; let the high praises of 
God be in their mouth and a two-edged sword 
in their hand to execute upon the world the 
judgments written. This honor have all the 
saints. Praise ye the Lord." 



202 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

PERSECUTION. 

u And I, brethren, if I yet preach circum- 
cision, why do I yet suffer persecution ? then is 
the offense of the cross ceased. ' ; 

Everything right is the truth and everything 
wrong is the lie. Souls unchanged are in the 
lie; but if changed by living faith they are in 
the truth. The lie never persecutes its own, 
as Satan is not divided against himself. So all 
those who have his spirit and nature are in 
union with their own. Yet as it is not a spirit 
of peace, nor a nature of love, it is ever at 
variance. Nations rise up in war against each 
other, and individual differences result in quar- 
rels, fightings, and murders ; but this is not 
persecution. 

Among those of different religious beliefs 
there are secret envyings, backbitings and open 
contentions and strifes of words, laws and cere- 
monies ; bitter oppositions ensue, but this is 
not persecution. 

Among pagans br professed Christians there 
are contrary opinions, which cause false accusa- 



OF THE LATE GEOEGE DUNKLE. 20S 

tions, which if continued add fuel to the fire 
already kindled, which in time breaks out into 
open hostility and perhaps bloodshed; yet this 
is not persecution, such as the Bible says all 
who live godly shall suffer. 

The spirit of persecution began in the garden 
of Eden, has continued until the present time> 
and will continue until the end of the world. 
It is the spirit and nature of Satan and dwells 
in every unregenerated heart; and as Satan's 
purpose is to bring all created beings on a level 
with himself, so the purpose of every unsaved 
soul is to bring back to their own spirit and 
nature any who may have been successful in 
realizing a change. 

There are persons who would not engage in 
violent measures against a man, nor say a word 
intentionally to hinder his progress in the di- 
vine life; yet unchanged by grace the spirit of 
persecution is in them, and their influence and 
sympathies are with those who persecute. Like 
the man with an infectious disease, he may not 
wish or intend to affect others, yet the poison 
is in his system and he cannot possibly avoid 
its influence. The spirit of true persecution is 
shown only where there are two spirits and na- 
tures, which accounts for the general quiet and 
union among all the different religious bodies 
at the present time. 

Those who have no divine light say it is be- 



204 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

cause of the advance of civilization and religious 
truth. God says it is because "the world loves 
its own." They say: "The days of persecu- 
tion are past. ' ' Jesus says : "If they have per- 
secuted me, they will also persecute you." 
They say: "Under the light of so much gospel 
the human heart is growing more tender. ' ' God 
says : " The heart is deceitful above all things, 
and desperately wicked." 

They rejoice at the harmony among their 
numbers. It is because there is but one spirit 
and nature in the society. They rejoice at the 
united influence existing and advancing be- 
tween the different church organizations. It is 
because there is no difference in spirit and na- 
ture between them. They have the same cause 
to rejoice that there is no particular opposition 
to their preaching and practice from those who 
make no pretensions to a Christian life. 

If a man breaks his promise he is called a 
liar. As long as the promise would have been 
in force, so long he continues to be a liar un- 
less his dishonesty is confessed and his pledge 
renewed. A man who makes a profession and 
is unchanged by grace lies to himself, to God, 
and to the world in the act. If he joins a church 
and promises to obey its rules and then disre- 
gards them, he begins in a lie, he remains in a 
l^e, and will end in a lie. If he gives a verbal 
pledge to a man he will be dishonored if he 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DILNKLE. 205 

fails to fulfill it. If he gives a verbal pledge to 
God and fails to fulfill it he is no less highly 
esteemed. If he gives a written pledge to a 
man and refuses to fulfill it, the law will arrest 
and punish him. If he gives a written pledge 
to God, which he does when he gives his name 
to be enrolled on any church record that claims 
the Bible as its rule of faith and practice, if he 
violates it even unto death, who calls him a liar ? 
Is it a less sin to lie to God than to man ? Is it 
not considered a greater offense to break a 
pledge to a king than to a citizen ? Yet prom- 
ises are continually made to the King of kings, 
with no intention of keeping them. Yet God 
says : ' 6 All liars shall have their part in the lake 
which burnetii with fire and brimstone : which 
is the second death." These souls will never 
be persecuted, as persecution only comes to an 
opposite spirit and nature. Now let a man 
comply with the Scriptural terms of salvation, 
— repent, confess, forsake and believe, and 
thereby secure the Holy Spirit and Christ-like 
character in place of what he first possessed, 
and see what will be done with him. Before 
he has uttered a word an influence is felt that 
awakens interest. When he testifies every 
mind is attracted and stirred up. As when 
among a group of animals an unfamiliar form 
comes in view all eyes are fixed and every 
form is alert, so now, an unfamiliar influence 



206 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMON'S 

is felt and a doctrine not comprehended or 
appreciated is in the midst and every one is 
talking about it. 

What is to be done ! Satan is deliberating 
by what means he can best rob him of that 
spirit and nature which he hates above all 
things else, and which is his greatest effort to 
destroy from the face of the earth. He tried it 
with the first pair and succeeded. He tried it 
with the Savior and failed. He has tried it 
with every soul who decided to walk in God's 
law since the creation of man. 

All mankind partake of this hatred. Few 
can give a reason for their dislike and opposi- 
tion. This object of hatred does no harm ; he 
violates no law ; he is kind to all, ready to aid 
in sickness or distress, never returns evil for 
evil, or railing for railing ; yet they despise and 
hate him. 

Satan having once possessed the right spirit 
and nature understands it better, and he begins 
operations for his destruction. First, by an 
attack on God's justice, as to the first pair: 
"Thou shalt not surely die." So now he says 
to this soul : " You need not take up every 
cross, nor be so strictly self-denying ; you are 
God's child, it is true, but his love will make 
some allowance for a slight neglect of duty or 
a little deviation from the straight line." If 
this fails to move him, then he uses allure- 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUJNTKLE. 207 

ments. 6 6 If you would bend a little, 5 ' whispers 
lie, u and not pursue so rigid a course, you 
would have a much easier time and some of 
your friends would be attracted to walk with 
you. ' ' If still unsuccessful he begins to threat- 
en. "If you continue on in this unnatural, in- 
consistent way you will drive all your friends 
to desperation ; some will ruin themselves by 
profligacy, and the rest will be joined by the 
whole community to fight against you." If he 
stands firmly to his vows of obedience, Satan 
inspires every unsaved friend and neighbor, 
and by those over whom he has the most con- 
trol he leads the van, and many persons engage 
in or approve what a few years later they are 
ashamed of. In the same city where Socrates 
lost his life for his faith, not many years after 
a monument was erected to his memory. 

But Satan is not yet through" with this soul; 
lie never ceases his effort unless restrained by 
God. If secular laws permit, violence, torture, 
and death await him. If liberty of conscience 
is allowed, as in these United States, slander is 
the only available weapon; and all manner of 
evil is said against him falsely for Christ's sake, 
or because of his Christ-like nature and spirit; 
and because of this he will become the filth and 
off scouring of the world. He will be esteemed 
lower than the lowest of the vile. Mormons, 



208 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Freelovers, murderers, and adulterers are all 
recognized above him. There is but one voice 
as against Christ: "Away with him, crucify 
him, and release unto us Barabbas;'' or, as 
against Paul : " Away with such a fellow from 
the earth, for it is not fit that he shoald live." 

This is real persecution of the kind and na- 
ture promised to the Godly who follow Christ 
through the regeneration. Any one who is 
without it, no matter what is his profession, is 
not a follower of the meek and holy Jesus ; 
whether in this age or an age preceding this, 
or one following it. 

Aside from the inward witness, it is one of 
the most positive evidences of discipleship, is 
a source of rejoicing to the soul, a delight to 
the heart of God when he sees his chosen and 
tried remain faithful, and is a cause of chagrin 
to those who engaged in it, when they see they 
have accomplished nothing. For what did they 
accomplish with Joseph, David, and Daniel, 
the Savior and his apostles \ What did they 
accomplish by the tortures of the Inquisition ? 
What did they accomplish by the cruelties 
practiced on the Albigenses and Waldenses 1 
What did they accomplish by the burning of 
Huss, Ridley, and Latimer ? Nothing to sat- 
isfy the Satanic nature, and no harm was done 
to a child of God ; but rather the advancement 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 209 

of Christ' s kingdom in the heart and his more 
speedy translation to a world of bliss. 

Satan is disappointed no doubt, that after 
making nse of all means at his command, both 
physical and spiritual, he has added so few to 
his number from those who voluntarily left 
him. This is the Christian's warfare: "He 
wrestles not against flesh and blood, but against 
principalities, against powers, against the 
rulers of the darkness of this world, against 
spiritual wickedness in high places." He 
fights, but not as one who beats the air, and if 
he is a final overcomer he will have a seat on 
Christ's throne. 



210 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERM0N9 



CHAPTER XIX. 

CHRISTIAN WARFARE. 

" The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 
but mighty through God to the pulling down 
of strongholds." 

The enemies which the Christian is required 
to make war against and overcome are principali- 
ties and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this 
world, and spiritual wickedness in high places. 
Here are the three enemies to the true faith : 
the world of persons great and small who make 
no profession to obey or worship the supreme 
Being, and who live simply for the pleasures 
or profits of the natural life ; the devil and his 
angels, invisible beings, yet with distinct spir- 
itual personalities, and a false religious profes- 
sion. 

Christ, the apostles, and every true Chris- 
tian in all the ages have had these enemies to 
oppose their progress ; and as there is no pos- 
sibility of passing by or evading them, the bat- 
tle must be fought and one or the other will be 
the final and eternal overcomer. 

Of these three enemies that of the world is 
best understood and least dangerous to the 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 211 

Christian. Having once been of it, all its de- 
sires and inclinations are familiar to him, and 
all the enjoyable things in it he has tasted 
and found they did not satisfy the longings of 
the soul, or take away the fear of death, hell 
and the grave. Voluntarily, of his own free 
will and choice, he renounced it for the excel- 
lency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the 
Lord. Its fleeting things that perish with their 
using he has left for more substantial good. 
Its pleasures, its mirth, its riches, its vice, he 
gave up for the true religion, which, having 
found, he feels a satisfaction in spirit he never 
knew before, and seldom, unless severely beset 
Tby the other enemies, does this one alone over- 
come him. 

Moses refused the throne of Egpyt to suffer 
with God's people because of the future re- 
ward. To Balaam were offered great honors if 
he would speak contrary to the word of the 
Lord ; but he said : "I have received com- 
mandment to bless and God hath blessed, and 
I cannot reverse it." Ruth, true to her adopt- 
ed faith, refused to go back to her kindred and 
people, choosing poverty and loneliness, rather, 
with the people of her choice. David had a 
severe battle with this enemy, when by envying 
the foolish and looking at the prosperity of the 
wicked his feet were almost gone, his steps 
had well nigh slipped. He had been plagued 



212 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



and chastened every morning, and as he looked 
at those who had more than heart could wish, 
whose strength was firm and who even in 
death had no bands, it was a source of afflic- 
tion and pain to him, until he went into the 
sanctuary of the Lord. Then he understood 
their end, and said: u So foolish was I, and 
ignorant." From church history we see a few 
in all ages who have refused the power, wealth 
and ease offered by the world in exchange for 
the soul. Yet some have been overcome by its 
flattering allurements, accepting their good 
things in this life, making shipwreck of faith 
and a good conscience and have turned again to 
the weak and beggarly elements of the world. 

Satan having once been a holy angel of light, 
whose knowledge is superior to the one not yet 
made perfect by grace, has every advantage, 
and if he was not bound by God' s law which 
says, "My grace is sufficient for thee," no one 
could avoid his traps, elude his enticements 
or resist his lion-like power. He comes to the 
soul and is invisible, yet is sensibly felt. He 
has power to instill feelings and to suggest 
thoughts, words and acts causing the most in- 
tense suffering, requiring all the powers of 
faith and ability to keep the heart from con- 
senting, the tongue from uttering or the hands 
from carrying into execution his designs. 

His wiles and power overcame Eve, Solomon* 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DOTKLE. 213 

Saul, David, Peter, and many, many others, who 
yielded, when perhaps on the verge of victory, 
and fell into sin, the last state of which is worse 
than the first. The Savior, to set us an example 
of patient resistance and endurance, was tempt- 
ed forty days without yielding, when Satan 
left him only for a season. Paul feared lest as 
Satan beguiled Eve so the minds of the Corin- 
thians should be corrupted from the simplicity 
that is in Christ, and warned them against giv- 
ing him any place. 

Of the three, none is so calculated to deceive 
the true believer as spiritual wickedness in high 
places. Of this the Savior gave special instruc- 
tion and warnings, 6 6 Beware of false prophets. ' ' 
And again, " To his disciples first of all, Bew r are 
ye of the leaven of the Pharisees." 

Why was this pains taken ? These leaders 
have the law, read and expounded it to the 
people. Why should his disciples be warned 
against their doctrine? Certainly not be- 
cause of the law, but because of their explana- 
tion of it. Jesus said : "They are blind lead- 
ers of the blind," and instead of teaching the 
law, they taught the commandments of men, 
and many truths they perverted and misapplied, 
so that their original meaning was not under- 
stood or explained. The Savior, it seems, did 
not approve of this mixing up of truth and 
error, this union of human wisdom and divine 



214 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

light, and so he warned his disciples against it. 

Before Peter's course was ended some doc- 
trines were brought in contrary to sound faith, 
and he did not hesitate to call them damnable 
heresies. John forbade receiving or bidding 
God-speed any who should come with another 
doctrine ; and Paul was so careful to preserve 
the pure faith that he publicly reproved even 
Peter for his dissembling, all of which shows 
the care with which 4 4 one Lord, one faith, and 
one baptism" was preserved by Christ and his 
followers. 

In all the ages since, little by little, errors 
great and small have crept into every society, 
holding for a time the true faith, and the only 
preservation of the pure doctrine has been by 
secessions. Any church that began to decline 
in spirituality has never been known to regain 
its first purity ; and history has constantly re- 
peated itself, showing this to be true. As long 
as nothing but the unadulterated gospel is held 
to, souls are converted and perfected by it. As 
soon as something contrary is allowed to go un- 
rebuked and unremoved so soon begins the 
decline. When the blindness and dishonesty 
becomes so fixed that reprovers are rejected 
and persecuted then there is no other course 
left for them but to secede. 

According to history, pure vital relig- 
ion remains but thirty years on an average 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 215 

in one place before errors in faith or practice 
begin to come in, and the few who remain firm 
are compelled either to yield or leave. Errors 
left unrebuked work like leaven, until they 
spread from person to person, from hamlet to 
village, from city to other lands, until all to 
whom it extends are subjected to it. This is 
spiritual wickedness in high places, against 
which the true Christian is called to fight. To- 
day he who stands to the unalloyed truth has 
these three elements combined to oppose him, 
and he must conquer or die : The world, with 
no justice or judgment, with its pleasures and 
vice ; Satan, having come down in great wrath 
knowing his time is short ; and the united re- 
ligious influence. 

Surely, the true Christian is like a sheep in 
the midst of wolves ; and the whole number of 
those who have the faith once delivered to the 
saints is but as two little flocks of kids which 
nothing could save from instant destruction 
were it not that " their rock is not as our rock, 
even our enemies themselves being judges;" 
and that the Christian armor, although afford- 
ing no protection if he turns back in the day 
of battle, yet so effectually covers him that not 
a snare from the world, a fiery dart of Satan, 
or the allurements of false doctrines can by any 
means hurt him. 

The efficiency of this armor depends wholly 



216 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



on the use made of it. The helmet of salvation 
will keep the mind from embracing erroneous 
doctrines ; the breastplate keeps all unright- 
eousness from entering the heart ; the truth 
keeps from forbidden paths ; and the prepara- 
tion of the gospel of peace keeps the feet in the 
narrow, thorny way. 

The different parts of this armor are united 
to each other so closely that the joints and 
bands afford no opening for the poisonous 
arrows, glittering sword points, or sharpened 
spears in the hands of these enemies ; and with 
the Word of God in his hand, which is sharp- 
er than any two-edged sword, he stands, a 
Christian warrior. Nothing is lacking; God 
has done all on his part necessary for his pro- 
tection and it remains for him to stand by his 
faithfulness or fall by his negligence. 

What is the simple meaning of this armor ? 
It means that a Christian finds in God's law all 
he needs to keep him from falling, and if he 
believes and obeys it there is no possible chance 
of failure. But it must clothe him, live in him, 
and be walked in to effectually protect him as 
the whole armor of a knight. But it is not to 
be protected alone that this armor is given. 
His course is onward and upward, and with his 
single weapon of warfare, "the sword of the 
Spirit which is the Word of God," he makes 
havoc in the kingdom of these three enemies. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 217 

With the world under his feet, he proclaims its 
pleasures as fleeting shadows, its mirth as vani- 
ty, its riches cankered and already eating the 
flesh as fire, and its vice gnawing at life's vitals, 
all unworthy the attention of a being designed 
for God's use and whose existence is unending. 
With Satan fleeing before him he exposes his 
devices, his whispering of "thou shalt not 
surely die," his traps and gins, and cries: 
"Hitherto shalt thou come but no further." 
With the false profession behind him he says 
with John Wesley : 4 6 Here am I and my Bible. ' ' 
With Moses he says : "Keep thou from a false 
matter." With David: "I hate every false 
way." With Solomon: "The wicked giveth 
heed to false lips. ' ' With Isaiah : ' ' Woe unto 
them that justify the wicked for reward and 
take away the righteousness of the righteous 
from him. ' ' And again : ' ' For the Lord spake 
thus to me with a strong hand and instructed 
me that I should not walk in the way of this 
people." With Jeremiah: "What iniquity 
have your fathers found in me that they are 
gone far away from me and have walked after 
vanity and have become vain ?" With Ezeki- 
el : "Woe unto the prophets that follow their 
own spirit ; also to the daughters of my people 
which prophesy. Because with lies have ye made 
the heart of the righteous sad and strengthened 
the hands of the wicked that he should not re- 



218 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

turn from his wicked way by promising him 
life. ' ' With Daniel : ' ' Many of the wicked shall 
do wickedly but none of the wicked shall under- 
stand. 5 ' With Jesus : ' ' No man can serve two 
masters, ye cannot serve God and mammon." 
With Paul: ' c If any man love not the Lord Jesus 
Christ let him be Anathema, Maranatha." 
With Peter: " While they promised them lib- 
erty, they themselves are the servants of corrup- 
tion ; for of whom a man is overcome of the 
same is he brought in bondage." With John : 
" Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, 
whether they ar§ of G-od, for many false proph- 
ets are gone out into the world." And finally 
with the Revelator : "Blessed are they that do 
his commandments that they may have right 
to the tree of life, and may enter in through 
the gates into the city, for without are all the 
abominable, and whosoever loveth and maketh 
a lie ;" by all of whose testimonies, both from 
the Old and New Testament Scriptures, he 
shows the existence, corruption and condem- 
nation of spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Having thus overcome these three enemies, 
exposed them by a faithful testimony and pro- 
claimed the truth as it is in Jesus, he waits the 
summons to change his armor for his crown, 
and sings: 

"More than conquerors at last," etc. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUXKLE. 



219 



CHAPTER XX. 

PRAYER. 

"The prayer of the righteous man avail eth 
much." 

God's dealings with the human family are 
wise, but mysterious. His course is shaped by 
the condition of the heart, and his way with all 
classes is marked with mercy and justice im- 
partially distributed. Prayer is the soul's de- 
sire, whether it be for good or evil ; the lips 
may speak what the heart disapproves and the 
acts belie the secrets of the soul, but the heart 
is known to God who in love dispenses to each 
what is best calculated to bring glory to him 
and good to the souls of men. 

According to the motives of the heart God 
deals with the children of men, and whatever 
he does or allows to be done is his way of bene- 
fiting the world. We see by the Scriptures, 
and also by the history of the church through- 
out time, that an answer to prayer is not al- 
ways an evidence of true religion in the heart, 
or that one whose prayers are answered is 
always a true child of God. 



220 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

The Israelites were murmurers and complain- 
ers and asked for bread, and although they had 
no true, saving faith, yet God answered them 
and gave them manna. Notwithstanding this 
miraculous answer, which was designed to show 
them God's power and their sinful unbelief, 
they murmured again and prayed for water. 
God for Moses 5 sake answered them again, 
showing his divine power as before. Yet, 
though their prayers were answered, Moses 
said: u Understand therefore that the Lord thy 
God giveth thee not this good land to possess 
it for thy righteousness, for thou art a stiff- 
necked people." 

The time came when the same people, having 
so far turned from the law of the Lord that 
they desired to be like the nations around them, 
asked Samuel to make them a king. This 
greatly displeased him, as he walked in the 
fear and love of the Lord to whom he prayed 
for direction. And the Lord said: " Hearken 
unto them and give them a king; but they 
have rejected me that I should not reign over 
them;" which again proves that an answer to 
prayer is no evidence of trne faith. 

David afterward said of this people after re- 
hearsing their unbelief and evil practices : 4 ' God 
gave them their request, but sent leanness into 
their soul." How often has it been the case 
when in extreme peril wicked persons, who 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUjSTKLE. 221 

made no profession of the Christian religion, 
prayed for deliverance, which, in an unlooked 
for, mysterious way, came to them and their 
lives were spared. 

How often have the workers in the Roman 
Catholic church gone into infidel or Protestant 
communities, or among the heathen, and pray- 
ing ten prayers to the Virgin Mary and one to 
<rod, plead for divine help to convert souls to 
that foul abomination, still reeking with the 
blood of the martyrs. They are not owned of 
God, yet their prayers are answered and many 
are yearly added to their numbers. 

How is it with the Protestant churches? 
When according to the custom, the proper 
time comes for a revival of religion and the con- 
version of sinners, there are meetings called 
especially for prayer for the interest and awak- 
ening necessary to the success of such a meet- 
ing. If those prayers were answered it is no 
evidence that those who offered them are in a 
saved condition. 

Perhaps the interest does not meet the desires 
of the leader, and an evangelist whose zeal and 
gifts are expected to produce an awakening is 
invited to aid in the effort. If his labors and 
prayers add many to the church it is no evi- 
dence that he is called of Grod to this work. 

Whitefield' s eloquence drew many after him 
who professed the Christian religion, and yet 



222 EXTRACTS FR01E THE SERMONS 

lie was a rank Calvinist who offered salvation 
to all, but believed that part of those who 
heard the invitation could by no possible means 
become saved by it, because God had predes- 
tinated them to be lost. Moody's effort was 
followed by multitudes who professed to turn 
to the Lord, yet he denied the possibility of 
any coming up to the Scriptural command, 
"Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father 
in heaven is perfect." His unusual success is 
no evidence that he is called of God to his 
work, or that he is even in possession of the 
witness of sins forgiven. 

Mrs. Van Cott was once laboring in a certain 
town in a series of revival meetings, and she 
thus relates what followed: u There seemed to 
be no interest or awakening in the meetings, 
and after three or four nights I could endure it 
no longer. I wrapped a shawl around me and 
went into my closet and began to pray for the 
conversion of twenty souls. I told the Lord I 
would take no denial; I must have twenty souls 
for Jesus, at least, in this town. I wrestled for 
three hours and then the answer came. I re- 
turned to the meeting like a giant refreshed 
with new wine, confident of success ; and lo ! 
fifty souls turned to the Lord and were added 
to the church." 

Where is the Scriptural evidence that this 
way of saving souls is in God's arrangement 2 



OE THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 223 

Why could she not have prayed for every soul 
in the place as well and been heard and an- 
swered % What Scriptural evidence have we 
that because her prayer was answered she was 
in favor with God ? I say not any. I even go 
farther and say it was positive evidence of dark- 
ness and unbelief. If God could convert one 
soul in that way he could all, and as it is his 
will to save all, why does he not convert the 
world at once ? But he can convert none 
against their will nor unless they comply with 
the Scriptural terms of forgiveness, yet these 
prayers for the conversion of sinners make 
God responsible for their salvation. What an 
unscriptural idea ! How far removed from 
God's way ! and how clearly it shows the gross 
darkness into which the church has fallen. 

Mrs. B., to whom God sent a message de- 
signed to convince her of her unsaved condition, 
a few months afterward said : " I was very much 
affected for days after the message, but I finally 
decided to leave it with the Lord in this way : 
I prayed that if I was right with him he would 
convert my niece whom I very much loved. In 
a short time she became serious and professed 
the Christian religion. How can I longer 
doubt my evidence of reconciliation with the 
Lord % ' ' Yet what had the conversion of her 
niece to do with her knowledge of salvation % 
Will she say at the j udgment, £ £ Lord, my niece 



224 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



was converted in answer to my prayer and I 
expect to be saved because of it?" What 
folly and delusion! What darkness and 
death ! A professing Christian wife or mother 
will hand to her leader the name of her uncon- 
verted husband, or child, or some other friend, 
and special prayer is offered in their behalf, as 
though God converted people in that way. 

The whole drift of this is to do away with 
man's responsibility and cast it on a sympa- 
thizing God. What is- the condition of souls 
begotten in this way ? Even like those who 
prayed for them. 

I do not say there is not a true conversion in 
any of these meetings. I do not say a man 
surrounded by none but infidels who are striv- 
ing to convert him to their faith might not 
comply with the Scriptural requirements and 
become converted to the true God ; but I do say 
the infidels did not aid him, and unless he 
keeps separate in spirit from them and gives to 
them a testimony of condemnation they will 
destroy him. I also say, a man who may be 
converted in any one of these religious bodies 
did not receive his conviction and light on his 
duty by false teaching, nor were his sins for- 
given in answer to such prayers as we have 
described ; and if he remains in the body he 
will be required by God's law to stand opposed 
by voice and influence to the unscriptural pre- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 225 

cepts and practices thereof, or he will lose hm 
witness. 

God often builds up a man on a motive, to* 
show his power in giving him to repletion the 
desire of his heart, that then, perhaps, he may 
see his own folly and repent. When the Israel- 
ites murmured because they wanted flesh the 
Lord gave them the fullness of their desire until 
it became loathsome unto them. 

As to who answers all these prayers, or aids 
in such religious efforts is a question for serious 
consideration. With the Israelites the record 
shows that God answered them. To the Savior 
Satan showed all the kingdoms of the world 
and the glory of them, and said: "All this 
power will I give thee and the glory of them ; 
for that is delivered unto me, and to whomso- 
ever I will I give it." 

It will not be assumed that God answers the 
prayers of a Catholic who gives ten times the 
adoration to a human being that he gives to his 
Maker, especially when his prayers are for the 
conversion of souls to the same idolatrous wor- 
ship. All through the prophecies God declares 
he will not hear the prayers of his professed 
people because of their sins and transgressions. 
He calls to them, but if they refuse to hear, 
when they call to him he will not answer. 

The man whose blindness from his birth was 
cured by Jesus, said : " We know God heareth 



226 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

not sinners, but if any man worship God and 
do his will, him he heareth." What inference 
can we draw from this but that God answers 
no prayer but that he inspires ; and it is not 
supposable that he would inspire an unsaved 
person to pray or labor for the salvation of 
others when he says: " The laborer must be 
first partaker of the fruit," and commands 
4 4 to seek first the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness." 

Yet among these great workers for souls we 
see a sad lack of conformity to Bible laws, 
an unbelief in plain Scriptural commands, 
and little or no fruit of personal saving grace. 
Yet their prayers are answered, their labors are 
blessed, and multitudes follow them. 

Does God answer the prayers of these labor- 
ers for the salvation of souls ? Does he bless 
their labors ? Do the multitudes who follow 
them become changed in heart \ Do they lay 
aside every unscriptural way ? Do they for- 
sake the world and all its follies and pleasures ? 
Have they another spirit and follow the Lord 
fully? If not, then it is "like people, like 
priest;" and both are condemned by the di- 
vine law, and God has no more to do with 
them than he has with those who never offer a 
prayer to him. 

This may seem like a harsh conclusion. But 
what other is just and right? If we throw 



OF THE LATE GEOEGE DTOKLE. 227 

away the Bible, or some parts of it, we can en- 
dorse and receive those as Christians who devi- 
ate from its laws ; we can believe God answers 
the prayers of all those church w r orkers who 
are themselves unsaved, whose fruit plainly 
shows that they do not live up to its require- 
ments. If we receive the Bible as the true 
foundation, we accept a deviation from it at 
our peril. With God the line is always drawn; 
with man it is high time there was a line. Too 
long has there been no difference between the 
lioly and profane, between professing Chris- 
tians and the world, and this amalgama- 
tion has so blinded the minds of both priest 
and people that the truth is so wrested as to 
place evil for good, darkness for light, a pro- 
fession for a reality ; and a man or woman who 
devotes his life to bringing souls into the 
churches is classed with the disciples of Jesus, 
though he may teach nothing but the com- 
mandments of men. 

What is the true prayer of the heart ? That 
which is pleasing to God and to which he glad- 
ly responds. It is an honest desire to see the 
true state of the soul, that it may be known as 
it is in God's sight; to see the Scriptural re- 
quirements of salvation that he may obey them 
and become saved ; and then that he may see 
the will of God in order to do it ? Such prayers 
are always according to the Scriptures and are 



228 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

in God' s arrangement ; and will by him always 
be answered, not to build him up on a false 
motive, but to build up Christ's kingdom in 
the heart and to bring glory to God. Such 
prayer is scarcely known at the present time, 
but wherever and whenever it is offered, it 
comes up as holy incense to God who sends, 
back answers according to his promises. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 



229 



( CHAPTER XXI. 

TO THOSE PROFESSING CHRISTIANS NOT CON- 
NECTED WITH ANY CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 

u There shall be a root of Jesse which shall 
stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall 
the Gentiles seek." 

In nearly every community there are to be 
found a few persons who have little or no con- 
fidence in the prevailing spurious Christianity, 
who cling to the truth in opposition to a false 
profession, and according to their knowledge of 
right, worship and serve God. They gather to- 
gether in a private house, perhaps, and offer 
their prayers, sing their hymns and give to 
each other their testimonies of experience. The 
few souls on earth who have a Scriptural ex- 
perience and walk in the narrow way are prob- 
ably to be found among this number. To these 
souls who have separated themselves from the 
professed Christian church, embracing every 
denomination, I have a message from God. 

This message did not come by the will of the 
creature, but by the Holy Ghost, and by him 
through an instrument of clay who became, by 
experience and affliction, willing to do anything 



230 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

God required, is it given to the world. It will 
accomplish that whereunto it is sent, whether 
it be a savor of life unto life or of death unto 
death. 

Do you still believe any of the leaders in 
these churches have been Scripturally qualified 
to preach the gospel and have retained the 
qualification I Then go back and stand by him. 
He is entitled to double honor and you are re- 
quired to esteem him very highly in love for 
his work's sake. His anointing places him 
over you in the Lord, and it is your imperative 
duty to receive, love and support him. Your 
reason for leaving the body has no real foun- 
dation. Do you believe the doctrine of the 
Father and the Son is preached there \ Go 
back and hear it ; it is the only one that can 
save you, and you are guilty of sin if you re- 
ject the truth. You have no just cause for 
leaving her. Do you believe in her methods 
of raising money for the support of her insti- 
tutions % Then go back and give her your last 
dollar. You did not leave her from a pure mo- 
tive. 

Do you believe there is no harm in her world- 
ly entertainments? Then join them ; you may 
as well have your good things in this life, too ; 
you did not leave her because you had any- 
thing better. Do you still believe there is a 
Christian living in her 2 Then go back to her ; 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 281 

if any Christian can live in her you can, and 
your reasons for leaving her are not valid. Do 
you still believe she is doing good in the world ? 
Then go back and aid her ; you have no Scrip- 
tural right to leave the work of God, and 
you did not leave her because of the light of 
the Holy Ghost. Have you any confidence that 
souls can be saved by her instruction, strength- 
ened and built up by her influence and led on 
to perfection by her practices, so that by her 
help they will enter the strait gate and con- 
tinue in the narrow way until safely landed in 
heaven 1 If you have, your proper place is in 
her, and you never should have left her. Your 
separation from her is only a selfish pretence 
because of some personal grievance that might 
be easily adjusted, or to further some design 
unworthy a man, to say nothing of a professed 
Christian. Go back, I say ; this message is not 
for you. You are one in spirit, nature, faith 
and practice with her you left, and you will 
only sow the same seed, that will produce the 
same fruit wherever you go ; it is much better 
to have it all in one place than to scatter it. 
So that he who leaves from pure motives and 
because of a true light may not be troubled 
with so many fragments of the same lump. 

If you have received and obeyed her instruc- 
tion and found it did not change you ; have fol- 
lowed her influence which you saw led you to the 



232 EXTRACTS FEOM THE SERMONS 

writings of men instead of to the Bible ; if you 
have become convinced that her methods and 
entertainments drove you to the world instead 
of to God ; and, finally, if you are perfectly 
satisfied that in order to become saved and lead 
a Christian life you must be separated from her, 
then you have Scriptural reasons for leaving 
her ; the Lord has put it into your heart to do 
so, and you ought to thank him for having 
such a care for you. 

My message is to you. Are you walking in 
the light \ Has this light made manifest your 
sins, and have they been forgiven ? Has it also 
manifested the need of a deeper work of grace \ 
Have you sought until you found it to the satis- 
faction of your soul ? Have you lived in it 
until you saw God 5 s nature, — the light making 
manifest your own nature still unchanged I 
Have you been faithful until it was removed 
and your nature became holy? Has every 
habit, manner and way displeasing to God been 
changed by chastisements, until by doctrine, 
reproof, correction and instruction you have 
been made perfect and thoroughly furnished 
unto every good work ! If you have here is 
my hand, " your heart is right with my heart, 
as my heart is with thy heart," and we could 
lay down our lives for Christ's sake. We are 
joined to each other by an experience and to 
God by adoption ; and we live in the will of 
God. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DTOKLE. 233 

We are so subdued by grace that we have no 
desire for anything but what he wills for us, 
and welcome all events in life as from him ; re- 
ceive persecution, affliction and pain the same 
as wealth, friends, and ease. We cannot be 
exalted by prosperity and are not depressed by 
adversity; our hearts being fixed in God are 
not moved by circumstances, and we are wait- 
ing Grod's pleasure concerning us, whether in 
life or death. How glad I am to have found 
you ! strangers, yet as well known as though 
having from birth always lived in one family ; 
of different nationalities perhaps, yet of one 
common father ; of different tongues, yet both 
speaking the language of Canaan. Continue 
to walk by the same rule and mind the same 
things, and we will meet face to face in the 
paradise of God. But are you among the 
greater number who are not satisfied \ who 
are longing for something you hardly know 
what % who have things in your heart you know 
are not right, and who hope to be saved, yet fear 
that death will not bring yon what you most 
of all desire? My message is to you also. 
The Christian religion, just as it comes from the 
truth, unmixed with false doctrines and prac- 
tices, is the most simple and reasonable of any 
thing on earth ; but it is hidden from the wise 
and prudent and revealed unto babes, and un- 
less the heart is humble enough to be teachable 
it can never be understood. 



234 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

So if you are meek enough to be taught there 
is a text book and a teacher provided ; and if 
you were alone upon an island or in the midst 
of a multitude, you yet might find what will 
make you to know, as well as you know you 
have an existence, that all is right between you 
and God ; you may become perfectly satisfied, 
be free from the fear of death and know you 
are prepared for heaven. 

This book is the Bible. You have read it 
many years, but it has a hidden meaning you 
can never find by reading. An experimental 
knowledge of this hidden meaning is the only 
thing that will do you any good, and can be 
found only by light, of which you are in need 
more than anything else ; for without it you 
will continue in the same state or become hope- 
lessly deluded. 

This light is not in those bodies which you 
left, but you may have it by asking Scriptur- 
ally. It comes by the Holy Ghost taking the 
scales from your eyes, and then your mind will 
be opened to see those simple truths which you 
have read so many times and yet knew nothing 
of. These truths will show you the cause of 
this dissatisfaction, this uneasiness and fear ; 
will make you to understand if you have once 
had grace that you do not now enjoy, and point 
you to a time when you could look up to God 
from the very depth of the heart, feel that he 



OF THE LATE GEOEGE DUNKLE. 235 

owned you as his child, and when alone or in 
the night season you could commune with him, 
and knew if you died you would reach heaven. 
If this is what your light reveals you are fallen 
from grace ; you have lost your first love ; and 
as you first sought the Lord you must return 
and do your first works over ; that is, confess 
your backslidings, renew your vows, and seek 
the return of the witness. 

The light will preqede you, and at every step 
it will reveal the way to go and what to do. 
When you receive the witness again you will 
feel and see as you did when you had the wit- 
ness before. If you continue to walk in the 
light it will lead you into all truth, from which 
emanates all the experience attainable in this 
life. If this is not your case, if you can see no 
time when it was better with you than now, 
then your dissatisfaction arises from conviction 
for what, to you, is unknown in grace. The 
light will pierce through the covering of the 
soul • and reveal what its true condition is; it 
will bring truths to your mind that will show 
you what to do to become changed. If you do 
every duty, heed every truth, keep out of 
every snare, and resist every temptation, the 
truth will make you free ; free from the evil 
nature and free from every obstacle to the un- 
limited operations of the Holy Ghost with you. 

Now you will know what it is to be not only 



236 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

dead to the world and to sin, but you will be- 
come so submissive that God can make any use 
of you he chooses, and your heart will con- 
tinually say, "Thy will, God, be done." 

But let me remind you that to reach such a 
glorious state you must suffer the loss of all 
things, — friends, influence, reputation and ease; 
you will be persecuted until it will seem that 
there is not a place on earth for you ; you will 
suffer until you will feel that you can suffer no 
more; you will be put into the hands of Satan 
with but just sufficient grace to endure his in- 
fluence and power ; your obedience will be 
tested to its utmost capacity, but God's eye is 
upon you, he is guiding you. When you think 
he has forsaken you quite his love is the great- 
est, because of your faithfulness; and when 
you come out of this fiery ordeal self is gone, 
you are as nothing and Christ is all and in all. 

This experience is not gained at once, neither 
by one continual growth. God works in the 
heart with such moderation and order that the 
soul understands and appreciates what is accom- 
plished, and the advancement is made by reach- 
ing successive points, as clear and distinct as 
conversion ; crosses, humiliation and light pre- 
cede every state gained, and increased knowl- 
edge, grace and power follow it. "So is the 
kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed 
into the ground, and should sleep and rise night 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUISTKLE. 237 

and day, and the seed should spring and grow 
tip, he knoweth not how ; first the blade, then 
the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." 

With a single eye, and seeing but one thing, 
you can gain the heights of Christian perfec- 
tion ; but I charge you in the name of the 
Lord, that if you give any countenance to 
what you have been required to forsake, your 
progress is at an end ; and also your prosper- 
ity and final success depends wholly on your 
faith in and obedience to the light coming to 
the single eye. 

Satan was once an angel of light, so do not 
receive every new thing that comes to you 
without due deliberation. Take it to God in 
prayer and ask to be guided aright. It would 
be much less difficult for you and you would 
avoid many pitfalls if you had a teacher, such 
as God qualifies, to lead you through this wil- 
derness world. You would go to him for in- 
struction and tell him your troubles and per- 
plexities ; he would explain the truth to you 3 
solve your mysteries and warn you of Satan's 
traps ; but if you know of none you are better 
off with your Bible alone and the Holy Ghost 
than with a false leader. 

God knows your circumstances, and if there 
is but one honest purpose in your soul, you 
can keep in the right path, without going to 
either extreme, — a form without the power or a 



238 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



zeal without knowledge. If at any time you 
lose the witness of acceptance with God do not 
rest until you regain it, as to continue on with- 
out it is delusion, and you will not long walk in 
that way before you will be led captive by 
Satan at his will. My heart goes out after you. 
My prayers shall ascend to God in your behalf. 
I well know what you must suffer and what 
difficulties there are to encounter, but the re- 
ward will repay the effort, and if you succeed 
we will clasp glad hands on the fair banks of 
eternal deliverance. May God help you. Amen. 

" Scattered o'er all the earth they lie, 
Till thou collect them with thine eye ; 
Thou only, Lord, thine own canst show 
For sure thou hast a church below. 
The gates of hell cannot prevail ; 
The church on earth can never fail ; 
Ah ! join rne to thy secret ones ! 
Ah ! gather all thy living stones !" 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUKKLE. 239 



CHAPTER XXII. 

FAITH. 

" For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision 
availeth anything, nor uncircumcision ; but 
faith which worketh by love." 

There are two kinds of faith necessary to the 
believer — historical and efficient. The first 
comes by hearing, the latter is the gift of God. 
The first embraces the letter of truth, the lat- 
ter the spirit ; the letter killeth, the spirit giv- 
eth life. All who credit the Scriptural record 
of Christ have an historical faith in him, but to 
be saved, by his offering requires an efficient 
faith. 

A man may believe every word of Holy Writ 
historically and obey it to the letter, and yet 
be unchanged and unsaved ; but efficient faith 
must be exercised in this divine law to bring 
salvation to the soul. Yet both are but a dead 
letter unless put into use by the God-given abil- 
ity which is a part of man's existence. 

This ability is the only thing which makes 
man responsible for his thoughts, words and 
deeds, and without it he could neither be judged 
nor punished ; with it he is called upon to rea- 



240 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

son with his Maker, to receive his law and obey 
it, to become holy in nature and blameless in 
life. 

With the whole responsibility of his destiny 
upon him, he stands possessed of a power that 
cannot be influenced or affected contrary to his 
will, and*he is left to receive or reject every re- 
port that comes to him. The report of the law 
and the prophets, foretelling the coming of a 
Savior and the gospel record of the fulfillment 
of every word of prophecy as to his birth, life, 
sufferings, death and resurrection, is written; 
he has power to receive or reject it. If he re- 
ceives it as a true record it is historical faith, 
which may go still farther and embrace the 
keeping of all the outward forms of Christian- 
ity, so that his life may be as blameless as was 
Paul's and yet he be an unsaved man. Yet 
this historical faith embracing a perfect out- 
ward righteousness is as necessary as it was for 
the law to precede the gospel ; and although it 
produces no inward change and leaves the soul 
in darkness and death, yet without it there 
could never be any light or life. 

" He came unto his own and they received 
him not, but as many as received him to them 
gave he power to become the sons of God ' that 
is, as many as received the historical record 
fulfilled in Christ, to them he gave the power or 
efficient faith to become changed, so as to be- 
come the sons of God. 



OF THE LATE GEOBGE DOTKLE. 241 

The rich young man who came to the Savior 
inquiring what to do to gain eternal life had 
the historical faith, and had carried it out to 
its farthest limit in keeping the law from his 
youth up. Jesus required the sacrifice of all 
in order that he might have an efficient faith 
which would bring life into his soul. After 
he has complied with all that the historical 
faith reveals it has done no more for him than 
John the Baptist did for the Savior, — prepared 
the way for a work impossible to any created 
being. "John indeed baptized with water, 
but he that cometh after him baptizeth with the 
Holy Ghost and with fire." So the historical 
faith, great as it appears and necessary as it is, 
is but a body without a spirit, a form without 
a soul. It is taught by some that there is but 
one kind and that historical ; by others, that 
efficient faith is as inherent as historical. If 
this were true why pray for its increase in view 
of man's ability ? His own inherent powers are 
sufficient to believe what commends itself to 
his mind as conclusive, to his judgment as 
reasonable, and to his conscience as right. But 
all this fails to bring a knowledge of forgive- 
ness or a cleansing power from the blood of 
Christ. There is no influence or power in it to 
draw the spirituality from the promises, and he 
yet remains unchanged ; but the question is 
settled by two witnesses — the Word and ex- 
perience. 



242 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

"By grace are ye saved through faith and 
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." 
Why should this be referred wholly to grace, 
when it is as evident that grace comes from God 
as that man has an existence ? Who would as- 
sume that grace is inherent when God says he 
will give it to the lowly ? All through the 
Scriptures it is spoken of as coming from him, 
and none think of disputing it. But here is 
faith, a disputed point, yet vital to the soul, 
and God, to guard it, gave a special protection 
against a fatal error by declaring that "it is 
not of yourselves but is the gift of God." The 
power to use this faith when given we admit is 
in man's ability, and unless by his will he co- 
operates with the gift it will leave him, as will 
also conviction or divine love if not rightly 
used. 

Experience, the other witness, proves that 
all inherent powers combined can only, bring a 
soul to the promise by complying with all the 
conditions connected with it, and there is no 
grounds for efficient faith until this is done. 
The promises are now before you, but are of no 
avail unless you can draw virtue out of them. 
The fulfillment of the promise, which brings a 
change in the heart, only comes by the exercise 
of that faith which alone is # the gift of God. 

This is as difficult to understand by one who 
has never known it, as the new birth is by one 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUJNTKLE. 



243 



who has never been converted ; and it is useless 
to try to explain it, being better felt than told. 
But it is an influence and an effort in the heart 
that takes hold of the promise and holds on 
until the promise is fulfilled. As long as the 
witness is retained, so long this God given 
principle remains in the soul. This is the hinge 
upon which all that is promised to man by the 
atonement turns to his account ; it is the great 
shield to ward off the attacks of Satan ; it is 
the life of the just, and if kept unto the end 
will be lost in the full fruition of all his ex- 
pectations. Satan cannot stand before it, the 
world shuns it, and graceless professors are in 
fear of it. Without the former it is impossible 
to come to God ; without the latter it is impos- 
sible to love him. The former brings him to 
the promise, the latter appropriates it. The 
former gives him a hope, the latter an assurance. 
By the former he may believe he is right, by 
the latter he knows it. 

The latter is the faith that the Savior inquired 
if he should And when he came again to earth, 
from which we inf ei that he did not expect a great 
multitude to have it in possession at his second 
appearing. Those who are living in the form- 
er and have nc confidence in the latter are look- 
ing and laboring for the conversion of the world 
to a position like their own, and they may suc- 
eed ; but it is sad to know that so many ex- 



244 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

pect to be saved, but will be disappointed. 
The latter is the faith once delivered to the 
saints that Paul said he had kept. This faith 
makes a separation, secures the opposition and 
persecution of the world, but is the only means 
of gaining a passport to the new earth wherein 
dwelleth righteousness. 

It is written : i% There is one Lord, one faith 
and one baptism. ' ' I have written of two faiths 
and the Word speaks of two baptisms, — one by 
water, the other by the Holy Ghost ; one a 
figure, the other a reality. So with faith : one 
is a shadow, the other is the substance; one is 
inherent, the other is the one faith which is the 
evidence of things not seen. 

He who has this faith in lively exercise, who 
never allows its edge to become dulled by care- 
lessness or unbelief, fights his way through 
-very foe in his onward and upward progress. 
Satan's darts, poisonous and pointed, though 
not prevented from striking with a force and 
influence that shakes to the very foundation 
the superstructure built on a true experience, 
yet if this shield is held firmly they cannot 
wound him or move him from the hope of the 
gospel, and will only be the means of benefit, 
for as he emerges from the conflict it is with 
more light on truth, greater knowledge of 
Satan's devices, and increased strength that 
cannot be affected as it has previously been. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DOKLE. 245 

If false doctrines come to the ear and for the 
time endeavor to charm the mind with a short- 
er, easier way to heaven, this one faith pierces 
through the delusion and he joyfully cries: 
"The faith that has saved me is the faith." 

If friends who are grieved and sore displeased 
at the separation grace has made, plead, reason 
and threaten, if faith is held with its keenest 
edge, he will say : 6 6 My friends are they who 
do the will of my Father in heaven." 

If the world with its pleasures, wealth and 
ease allures for a moment when burdened and 
sore pressed, faith, if used, will assert its alle- 
giance to God and, piercing through time, will 
bring strength and comfort at the prospect of 
joys beyond the tomb. 

If self craves for indulgence faith rigidly 
subjects the weaker and perishable part of 
man' s existence to the higher, the Spiritual and 
the holy, so that all the opposers to the divine 
reign of Christian love in the heart are made 
to flee or yield to faith. Mighty faith, such as 
put to flight the armies of the aliens ! Heaven 
born principle of strength ! Shield of the right- 
eous ! G-uide through cheerless gloom ! Com- 
fort in distress ! Life-giving element of truth ! 
Who once finding thee will release thee for 
ease, friends, wealth or pleasure \ Who know- 
ing will rest satisfied without thee? Who 
would not follow thee though thy paths are in 
the sea ? 



246 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

HOPE. 

" Remember the word unto thy servant upon 
which thou hast called us to hope." 

This boon to the human family causes many 
a soul to turn from vice to virtue, from the 
world to a profession of the Christian religion, 
and were it not for its influence the world 
would revel without restraint in all the base- 
ness of carnality or sit listless in blank de- 
spair at the prospect of the future. A true 
hope is like an anchor to the soul both sure and 
steadfast ; a false one is a delusion with which 
the world is filled, and is the means of blinding 
the mind, stilling the voice of conscience, 
hardening the heart, and sending many souls 
to the bottomless pit from the churches and 
from the world. 

So far has infidelity superseded faith in God's 
"Word that you can scarcely find one person but 
that expects to gain heaven in some way. Go into 
any church in the land and where will you find 
one of its members but that hopes to be saved? 
But what is hope \ A desire joined to an ex- 
pectation. The desire no sane person is sup- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 247 

posed to be without, but the expectation, — 
what are the grounds for it ? Why do you ex- 
pect to gain heaven ? Universalists, who do not 
believe in a place of future punishment, need 
no foundation for hope, because, if their doc- 
trine be true, all are assured of salvation. 
Those who believe heaven is for their friends 
and hell for their enemies need nothing but an 
assurance that God feels as they do. 

But to those who believe the Bible record of 
the ending of the two ways in which walk 
the whole human family, what is your hope? 
Do you expect to gain heaven ? What is the 
foundation of your hope? Have you entered 
that strait gate, so strait that any whose sins 
are unforgiven cannot enter? Have you re- 
pented of your sins with meekness and contri- 
tion, confessed them without a self-righteous 
reserve to God and to the world, forsaken every 
sinful way and association and found the wit- 
ness of forgiveness ? Are you walking in the 
narrow way that is so narrow that it will not 
admit of a deviation from God's law? Are 
you keeping nine commandments and the tenth 
also? Do you refuse fellowship with those 
who by their fruits you know to be sinners or 
-ungodly ? Do you tell sinners what God has 
done for your soul and warn them to flee from 
the wrath to come ? Do you testify against the 
advocates and professors of a spurious Chris- 



243 EXTRACTS FR03I THE 8ERMOKS 

tianity? Do you take the Bible as your guide, 
and the Holy Ghost as its interpreter, and do 
you believe and obey the light it gives you \ 

If you can truthfully say, as you expect to 
meet it before the bar of God, that you have 
done and are doing these things, you have 
Scriptural ground to hope that if you so con- 
tinue you will surely reach heaven ; your hope 
is well founded, it will reach to that within the 
veil and will carry you safely through death's 
billows to join those who are waiting to wel- 
come you. But what of the hope of the multi- 
tude of professors who do not believe it is pos- 
sible to live without sin? of those who do 
many things they ought not, and leave many 
things undone they ought to do \ of others 
w T ho are thankful they have never been great 
sinners, whose righteousness is like the Scribes 
and Pharisees? of others who do not believe in 
being so sanctimonious but that they can enjoy 
a little fun and worldly entertainments, taking 
the world in one hand and religion in the 
other ? of others who spend six days in labor 
and strife to be rich, who are not particular to 
know whether their gains come lawfully or 
otherwise, but attend church on the Sabbath 
and pay well for the support of charitable in- 
stitutions? of others who believe God is so 
merciful that he will save them even though 
they do not pretend to live up to the Bible? 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DTOTKLE. 249 

What is the ground of your hope % Do you 
believe God will prove himself an unjust, weak, 
unprincipled being, whose word is not to be 
relied on, or a liar who promises and then fails 
to fulfill? Do you believe he will keep his 
promise to the righteous and break it with the 
wicked ? Or have you turned partially to Uni- 
versalism? Has its refined infidelity soothed 
your conscience so that the fear of God' s wrath 
no longer keeps you awake nights, though you 
know you live in sin ? Beware of it ! It is the 
doctrine of devils ! It is already stalking abroad 
at noonday, and the world is deceived by its 
siren song of safety ; yea, even its influence, 
like a dew, has fallen unperceived on the entire 
professed world and none are awake to its pow- 
er. Awake from your sleep ! Your hope is 
groundless, it will fail you at last, it is but as 
the hypocrite's hope that shall perish. 

How is it with you who make no profession, 
and say : "I deal honestly with my neighbor ; 
I harm no one, which is more than many church 
members can truthfully say ; if the Lord makes 
allowance for them, he will for me, and I hope 
to gain heaven V 3 Ah ! your hope is as ground- 
less as is theirs with whom you compare your- 
self. You may do your duty by your neigh- 
bor, may be honest and upright with men, but 
God has a claim prior and superior to theirs. 

Do you think he will be satisfied if you meet 



250 EXTRACTS FJBOM THE SERMONS 

earthly claims and neglect his requirements? 
His claim is the love of all your soul, might, 
mind and strength, and the service of your life, 
out of which grows all your obligations to your 
neighbor. You have changed God's order and 
endeavored to keep the second commandment 
(which it is impossible to do without heeding 
the first,) and have neglected God entirely. 

Because a professor who keeps neither the 
first nor the second command claims a hope 
of heaven is no reason he has any founda- 
tion for it ; and to base your expectations of 
heaven on the fact that you are no worse than 
he, is like a man who follows his companion in 
rowing over Niagara Falls, saying: "If you 
can go over safely, I can." You forget God 
has given you an individual responsibility for 
which he will hold you personally accountable ; 
and if the entire world were either saved or 
lost it would not lessen one iota this responsi- 
bility. You forget his word says, "Look unto 
me all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved, for 
I am God and beside me there is no Savior, ' ' and 
not, "Look unto the church members and see 
if you are better than they, and if you are sat- 
isfied you are, settle do wn and hope for heaven. ' ' 
You forget there are but two roads and that 
both you and the church member are in one or 
the other; and that in the future world the 
only intermediate place between heaven and 
hell is a great impassable gulf fixed. 



*QF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 251 

So let me, though but a sinner saved by grace, 
warn you to stop looking at the church mem- 
ber and your own righteousness and look to 
God's Word, wherein you will find his claims 
on you. 

Let me, having forsaken all that life holds dear 
for the salvation of my soul, exhort you to com- 
ply with those claims at the expense of your all, 
and your hope will have a foundation of solid 
rock. Let me, who am the least of all the saints, 
entreat you not to put off for a more convenient 
season what you have an opportunity of doing 
now, because God says, "In an hour when ye 
think not the Son of man cometh." 

Unless you have been changed by grace and 
have the evidence of a new heart and a right 
spirit the su mmons will find you, notwithstand- 
ing your hope, without the wedding garment*, 
and your soul will be lost forever. 

0, these false hopes ! Satan gave them to 
you and rejoices that he holds you by them. 
Hell will be filled with those who because of 
them neglected the great salvation God pro- 
vided for them whereby they might escape this 
place. Who is the most responsible for these 
false hopes ? Spiritual leaders whose duty it 
is to show to the world the claims of the Su- 
preme Being, to expose every false way and to 
tear down the foundation of every false hope. 
Yet they are the very ones who are leading the 



252 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMOKS 

world to hope for heaven without a change of 
heart, who bewilder the mind by so much 
learning and no plain explanation of the true 
foundation of a hope of heaven. 

Beware of these false prophets ! they teach 
not the narrow way, they are but wolves in 
sheep's clothing. Jesus said: u Beware ye 
of their doctrine," it will make you to hope 
for heaven when the fiery billows of hell are 
rolling under your feet, with but the brittle 
thread of life holding you from being swallowed 
up in their tumultuous waves. 

Is there not cause for zeal, for earnestness, 
for calling things by their true names I Is there 
not cause for uncovering the truth that is being 
buried under layer after layer of peace and 
safety, with hell yawning just beyond the next 
step, which will take in all those whose hope 
is not founded on compliance with and obe- 
dience to the whole Word of God \ Where is 
the reformer for these times, as much needed 
as was Wickliffe, Luther Wesley or Scott ? 
He will be marked for the arrows of persecu- 
tion, he will stand out in bold relief against the 
professed world, he will take his life in his 
hands, but God will reward him. 

In the name of my God I call upon all who 
see these abominations that turn the soul from 
the truth to fables, from an inward work of 
grace to an outward righteousness, from the 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUNKLE. 253 

example of Christ and his disciples to a union 
with the world he strictly forbade, who see the 
statutes and judgments of the Lord changed for 
the commandments of men, who see infidelity, 
hypocrisy and pleasure, without even a cover- 
ing to hide their true features, so boldly is the 
law of God defied, " to cry aloud, spare not 
lift up your voice like a trumpet and show the 
people their transgressions and the house of 
Jacob their sins." 

" That awful day will surely come, 
The appointed hour makes haste, 
When I must stand before my Judge 
And pass the solemn test." 



254 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

CHARITY. 

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, 
these three ; but the greatest of these is charity . ' ' 

The usual meaning of this word in the present 
age is either almsgiving or a sympathy, and an 
allowance for all mankind whose faith and 
practice does not come up to the whole will of 
God ; and the warning against judging has be- 
come so common and widespread that this kind 
of charity is believed to be one of the Christian 
graces ; and he who never utters a word of con- 
demnation on any person or class is the most 
highly exalted as a pattern of piety. But its 
Scriptural meaning is not so. It is a vital prin- 
ciple that lives in the souls of God's children, 
but none have it who are unchanged by grace. 

From childhood the people are taught it is 
duty to love God, and he who is honest enough 
to admit that he does not love him, is almost 
branded as an infidel ; yet what is the nature of 
this love that all are expected to have ? By in- 
ference, at least, God is taught to be a being of 
infinite sympathy and kindness, and whose 
charity is so great towards the human family 



OF THE LATE GEOEGE DUISTKLE. 255 

that he gave his Son to die for them ; and that 
he is not expected to execute strict justice to- 
wards those who mean to love him and intend 
to lead a Christian life. That Jesus is a sympa- 
thizing friend who feels for all our troubles and 
distresses, who kindly passes over our little 
faults, who pays no strict attention to a simple 
neglect of duty 5 and who does not expect his 
word to be perfectly complied with. So that, 
to sum it up, G-od is a being like man, with the 
same loving, sympathetic nature, with the 
same inclination to bend or pass by his com- 
mands, and who esteems the professed world 
at least as his friends, and so will save the 
most, if not all of them. 

To love such a being requires no change of 
heart. Every person has a certain kind and 
degree of affection in his nature, and he has but 
to cultivate it to be filled with it to the exclusion 
of justice, judgment and truth. 

This is the "love to Jesus" with which the 
professed world resounds; but there is no 
divinity in it and it is a weariness to God, as 
were the multitude of burnt offerings with 
which service was offered him, when the heart 
was still sinful and the obedience imperfect. 

What then is this charity without which one 
may speak with the tongues of men and angels, 
may have the gift of prophecy, understand all 
mysteries and knowledge, have all faith, give 



256 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

all his goods to feed the poor and his body to 
be burned, and yet not be a Christian, is not a 
child of God, does not walk in the narrow way 
and will not reach heaven ? 

It is a divine love none have at birth, and 
none can obtain by education or refinement, by 
refraining from all evil, by fasting and prayer, 
by devoting his life to the good of mankind, 
the salvation of souls or the conversion of the 
heathen ; he may even keep the whole law as 
did Paul, and yet not have it. It can be had 
only in one way and from one source. We 
must look to the Bible for an explanation of 
its source, its nature and its effect, and to 
Scriptural examples for it's fruit and influence. 
Its source is God, for " God is love," and every 
good and every perfect gift is from above. Its 
nature is the opposite of human love, in that it 
changes the heart, the spirit and the life ; its effect 
is the opposite of natural love, in that it causes he 
who has it to love what he once hated and to 
hate what he once loved; its influence is to 
draw and encourage every contrite soul to gain 
it ; it rouses up Satan to activity for its destruc- 
tion, and incites opposition and persecution 
from a graceless profession. 

What was Adam when he had it ? A being 
whose nature was holy, whose spirit was sub- 
missive, whose influence was salutary. What 
was he after his fall i A man whose nature was 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 257 

sinful, whose spirit was deceitful, whose in- 
fluence was baneful. What was Paul before 
he had it % He was a persecutor of the saints, 
his nature was unholy, his spirit rebellious 
against the meek and lowly Jesus, and his 
influence was to destroy the work of God. 
What was he when he had it % His nature 
was changed so that he said : £ ' The law of the 
spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free 
from the law of sin and death." His spirit was 
changed so that he said : " I take pleasure in 
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in per- 
secutions, in distresses for Christ's sake," and 
his influence was a reproof to sin and an en- 
couragement to holiness, as he said: u Ye are 
witnesses, and God also, how holily and un- 
blameably we behaved ourselves among you that 
believe." 

What is any soul without it % His nature is 
totally depraved, his spirit is antagonistic to 
the true God and true religion, and his influence 
is to discourage obedience to God and to en- 
courage a graceless profession of religion. 

This nature may be covered over with a pro- 
fession of godliness, may be kept under by self- 
control, but that does not change it. This 
spirit, by education, may seem meek and gentle 
as a lamb, but opposition will provoke it to 
show itself as it really is. This influence may 
appear innocent, but grapes do not grow on 
thorns nor figs on thistles. 



258 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Can any man have this love without a change 
of heart? Nay, verily! "Ye must be born 
again," said the Savior. Can he walk in the 
commandments without this love ? Nay, verily ! 
"He that doeth righteousness must first be 
made righteous." Can he have any influence 
for good without this love ? Nay, verily ! "For 
no fountain from the same place sends forth 
both sweet waters and bitter." 

The Savior was called the "Lamb of God, 
that taketh away the sin of the world;" he 
was also called "the Lion of the tribe of Ju- 
dah ;" two as opposite spirits and influences as 
could possibly be found. The Lion and the 
Lamb ! One weak, gentle and harmless, the 
other powerful, fierce, and destructive. Why 
apply two such opposite elements to the Savior? 
What is the meaning i It means that goodness 
and severity, meekness and wrath, mercy and 
justice go hand in hand with the divine princi- 
ple of love ; it means that when he calls the 
contrite sinner unto him his wrath is upon the 
rebellious who refuses his call ; that though he 
is ever ready to minister to the sin-sick soul, 
no matter how vile he may be, his most scath- 
ing denunciations are upon a false, hypocritical 
profession of piety ; it means that though he 
were a servant who meekly stooped to die, yet 
his vials of judgment and indignation are 
poured out upon the world without mixture 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 259 

for refusing to walk in his law ; it means that 
<rod is not the sympathetic being some suppose 
him to be, but a being whose nature is love, 
from which emanates his attribute of justice 
as well as of mercy, and whose word, as well 
as his divine character, is unchangeable. 

Did not Jesus show both of these attributes 
in his life ? Who ever received more willingly 
all who came in humility and contrition ? Who 
ever dealt with more power and severity in 
condemnation of those false teachers — Scribes, 
Pharisees^ and lawyers, who professed to keep 
the law yet were void of this principle ? What 
language could depict their true, inward char- 
acter more clearly or show in what regard he 
h eld them, than by 4 ' Hypocrites, ' ' " Serpents, ' ' 
" Vipers," etc. Yet if such language is used in 
condemnation of the same class in these days, 
the one who has the courage to do so is branded 
as an " uncharitable bigot." 

Was the Savior a bigot ? Was he uncharita- 
ble ? Neither are his followers, who are not 
ashamed to speak his words. 

But this side of his life is passed by as be- 
longing only to that age and to those people. 
The disciples, no less that their Master, exhib- 
ited in their lives and testimonies the same 
severity and condemnation on the same class of 
professors, and yet none will deny they had 
this divine principle of charity. 



260 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

It suffers long and is kind, yet is equally as 
faithful to God's justice as his mercy. It doth 
not envy nor vaunt itself ; is not puffed up, nor 
does it behave unseemly even when prompted 
to righteous judgment. It does not seek her 
own, is not easily provoked, yet when she is 
provoked to good works by false doctrines or 
delusive hopes, her voice is heard with no un- 
certain sound. She thinketh no evil, rejoiceth 
not in iniquity, even if it is seen in the professed 
church of Christ, but in the truth, which brings 
to light every hidden thing of darkness. She 
bears all things — persecution, reproaches, and 
slander — without retaliation. She belie veth all 
things — even the whole word of God— the 
prophets, the apostles, and Jesus. She hopeth 
all things promised will come to pass, even to 
the future rewards. She endureth all things 
without murmuring or complaining, that a 
tempting devil, a wicked world, and a false 
profession can bring upon her. 

It never fails to comfort and support, to guide 
and to direct, even unto death ; and when all 
else have failed it will shine above the bright- 
ness of the noonday sun, and will introduce 
those who have it to the courts of glory. In- 
deed, none ever enter there who do not have it, 
as it is the wedding garment, the oil in the 
vessels, the foundation of the good works of the 
sheep on the right hand, and the only difference 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 261 

between the law and the gospel, the holy and the 
profane, him that serveth God and him that 
serveth him not. This is charity ! Faith will be 
lost in sight and hope in full fruition, but 
charity will live forever. Without ever having 
received it, all are sinners unchanged and un- 
saved, no matter what they may have done. 
They may have preached the gospel, may have 
exceeded in good works, yet they are un- 
changed, their works are but vanity, their 
preaching is but beating the air and their souls 
are lost. The possession of it is true Holy 
Ghost religion, such as the apostles had, and 
is all that makes a man a Christian. If he loses 
it he is a backslider, and his last state is worse 
than though he had never known it. Unless 
he regains it, his labors are wrought in self and 
aided by Satan, his testimonies are lifeless and 
his religion is delusion ; and he may finally 
knock at the door and say, ;; I love Jesus, and 
here is my faith and my works/' but Christ will 
answer: " Verily, I say unto you, I know you 
not." 

This is the native element of the soul, which 
can never be perfectly satisfied without it. 
The bird cannot be happy without the freedom 
of the air, nor the fish without the freedom of 
the water ; neither can the soul ever find its na- 
tive happiness or freedom until divested of the 
ourse and its effects ; he lives, moves and has 



262 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMON'S 



his being in the boundless and inexhaustible 
ocean of God' s love, which unites him to his 
Maker and to all others who have it, without 
regard to their former condition. It is a power, 
a life, a joy, a peace that he carries with him 
through this world of sorrow, affliction and 
pain, and is the only element in heaven pos- 
sessed by God, by angels, and by saints. 
While he waits the final messenger he sings i 

" O love ! thou bottomless abyss, 
My sins are swallowed up in thee." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUKKLE. 



263 



CHAHTEE XXV. 

USEFULNESS. 

" And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after 
me, and I will make you fishers of men." 

The great desire for usefulness and for labor- 
ing in the vineyard of the Lord that permeates 
the religious influence of the world is not a 
God-given desire. 

Did it require the cross-bearing, self-denying 
humility and secure the opposition, condemna- 
tion and persecution that a true laborer in 
God's cause is obliged to endure there would 
be no such eagerness to fill stations that are 
now to a great degree popular, easy and afflu- 
ent. 

Yet God does make use of man for the good 
of other souls. He who believes ' £ all the good 
done in the earth the Lord doeth it," and has 
been stripped of all desire but to do his will, 
whether in silence or upon the house-top, in 
obscurity or in the face of the entire world, is 
the one who will bring most glory to his Maker, 
most honor to his cause, and will also bring 
down upon himself the greatest wrath and per- 



264 EXTRACTS FROM THE SER3I0XS 

secution from the ungodly. The removal of 
everything from the heart which hinders its 
union with God is reached by a firm decision, a 
perfect obedience, and an efficient, unwavering 
faith. 

When the full salvation of the soul is obtained 
he is like a shock of corn fully ripe, prepared 
for the garner ; and in nature, if not gathered 
in, would spoil by longer exposure to blasting 
winds and drenching storms. 

If God leaves his children here still exposed 
to the attacks of Satan and the rage of men af- 
ter they have realized the benefits of the atone- 
ment it is because he has use for them, either 
among his professed people, among true be- 
lievers, or in the world. 

If among sinners he is called to labor, it is to 
warn them to flee from the wrath to come, by the 
terrors of the law, by the wrath of God and by 
the future punishment awaiting them ; to call 
them to repentance by the provisions of the 
gospel, the hope of forgiveness, the joys of sal- 
vation and the glories of heaven. He may use 
all his ability in persuading men but he can do 
no more : he can save none by his righteous- 
ness though he be Noah, Daniel or Job. The 
offers of life must be left with them, and their 
salvation depends wholly on the use they make 
of the message. It will accomplish that where- 
unto it is sent ; it will awaken and convict with- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 265 

out their desire or consent. If they receive it 
in faith it will prove the savor of life unto life. 
If they reject it, cavil with it, or neglect it, it 
will prove a savor of death unto death. 

To the professed people of God who come 
near to him with their lips while their hearts 
are far from him, who are deceiving and being 
deceived, who are teaching for doctrines the 
commandments of men, who profess they know 
God but in works deny him, who say they love 
Jesus but do not keep his words, and who trust 
in God even unto death, to them more than to 
all others is his usefulness manifest. 

Where were the prophets sent but unto the 
Israelites, once the chosen people of God ? To 
whom were the disciples sent but to the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel, commencing at 
Jerusalem and then to all the world ? 

What is their duty to this class? "To root 
out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw 
down, to build and to plant." To root out the 
seeds of error resulting from false doctrines 
and a perversion or misapplication of truth; 
to pull down the high places of pride and 
arrogance, resulting in a strife of who shall be 
greatest; and in following after the popular 
ways of the haughty and the rich ; to destroy the 
foundations of the profession of the Christian re- 
ligion without the witness, a hope without for- 
giveness, a love without a change, and a trust 



266 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

without a reconciliation to God ; to throw down 
the idols erected in the place of the true God, the 
institutions of darkness which are places of pro- 
tection and gain, worldly entertainments of 
pleasure or profit, and vain altars upon which are 
offered the torn, the lame, the blind and the 
sick ; to build upon these ruins a holy temple 
unto the Lord, composed of those in whose 
hearts have been planted the seeds of unadulter- 
ated truth which spring up, are watered and 
nourished until they bring forth the fruits of a 
change. 

His usefulness may now be with these souls 
who, being but babes need the care of a mother, 
a nurse, a teacher, and a guardian, until they 
become by experience able to care for them- 
selves ; and is a work at which he may well 
tremble and be dismayed unless his sufficiency 
is of God. 

He is called to be a mother to give them the 
food suited to their age, strength and condi- 
tion ; a nurse to watch over them and care for 
their needs ; a teacher to instruct them as to 
the nature of God' s claims, and a guardian to 
lead them into all truth, to warn them of dan- 
ger and so keep them in the right way. A 
work none would dare undertake, were they 
not blind and deceived, unless qualified and 
sent by God ; a work which will be met at the 
judgment by the salvation or damnation of all 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DUKKLE. 267 

the souls over whom he is placed. Truly it is 
the one work above all others for which a di- 
vine preparation is needed, a divine direction 
is requisite, a divine strength indispensable. 

As a mother, if he gives food not of the 
proper nature or quantity to these babes in 
Christ, sickness and perhaps death ensue ; 
that is, if he gives truths not applicable to 
their state which they try to comprehend and 
receive, but for which they are not prepared 
by growth, strength, and conviction, it will 
cause confusion to the mind, and the effort to 
digest things impossible in their condition will 
divert the purpose of the heart, and death or 
loss of the witness is inevitable. 

As a nurse, if he neglects to watch over them, 
to warn them against carelessness, indifference, 
the allurements of the world and the influence 
of Satan, to provide for their help in trial and 
their means of growth, they will go into by and 
forbidden paths, but he will be held responsi- 
ble. 

As a teacher he is to explain to them doc- 
trines designed to lead them through the re- 
generation, which is to change their natures, 
to bring them in union with their Maker, to 
present them before Christ without spot or 
wrinkle or any such thing ; to show them the 
devices of Satan and to expose the innumerable 
false doctrines that are in the world, which are 



268 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



designed to corrupt their minds from the sim- 
plicity of the gospel and so rob them of the 
only means of final and eternal salvation. 

As a guardian he is to show them their duty 
to # themselves, to God and to the world ; to 
make straight paths for their feet ; to guard 
them from the enticements of seducing spirits 
and doctrines of devils by a view of their real 
character ; to keep them from the darts of 
Satan by showing them the nature and use of 
the shield ; to rescue them from the verge of 
the yawning gulf of a profession without a 
a cross, a self-denial, a separation, or the prin- 
ciple of that love which is the only vitality of 
the Christian religion, and to continue his 
office until all under his care have come by his 
instruction, example, faith and prayers, to 
"the unity of the faith and to the knowledge 
•of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto 
the measure of the staturfe of the fullness of 
Christ. 

What a calling ! What a work ! No won- 
der he is to be esteemed more highly in love 
than all others ! No wonder he is worthy of 
double honor ! Paul may plant and Apollos 
may water ; one may lay the foundation and 
another may build thereupon, but the Lord 
alone giveth the increase ; and they are but as 
servants who have done their Master' s bidding ; 
and having done all, they are but unprofitable 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DTJNKLE. 269 

servants, having done no more than was their 
duty; but they can say, "Here am I, Lord, 
and the children thou hast given me." This 
work for the benefit of the world is designed 
for all who will believe and obey the message, 
to change the soul from sin to holiness; the life 
from worldly pleasure and gains to a con- 
formity with the truth ; the conversation from 
earthly to heavenly things ; the thoughts from 
evil to things "true, honest, just, pure, lovely 
and of good report;" and finally, to change 
from the broad way to the only one that ends 
in heaven. 

This calling, the field of action or the labor, 
is not given because of a desire to thus be made 
use of, but is from God, who uses whomsoever he 
chooses and for whatsoever purpose he wills ; 
who calls him as he did Jeremiah or Paul, who 
assigns him his place of labor and also gives 
him his word to deliver. 

If he rejects his calling woe is upon him ; if 
he takes the direction of his paths upon him- 
self he will find himself forsaken of God and 
will fall into great distresses ; for it is not in 
man that walketh to direct his own steps. If 
he adds to or takes from the message God will 
also add to him plagues and take from him his 
part in the Book of Life. 

Moses and Joshua, Samuel and Isaiah, Peter 
and Paul, and all others who have been useful 



270 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

in the salvation of souls, who were laborers in 
the vineyard and ministers of the gospel, were 
thus called and led, so that the glory of all 
works that are acceptable to God truly belong 
to him. All who follow their own desires, who 
seek their own field of labor, who take the rea- 
sonings of their own minds or the writings and 
sayings of others as a message from God to 
men, are outside of God's arrangement and 
have no Scriptural authority for their work. 
They ran but were not sent by God ; they said 
like the Israelites, "We will go up to battle," 
but the pillar of fire and cloud did not go be- 
fore them ; God is not with them, and of their 
message it cannot be said, "Thus saith the 
Lord." 

Will those workers, self-sent, by man ap- 
pointed, and whose message is obtained from 
the mind, reach heaven ? It is impossible, if 
there is any truth in God' s word to man. He 
is in the way many travel ; all manner of evil is 
not said of him falsely ; he is not the filth and 
olfscouring of the world ; the Holy Ghost does 
not lead him ; he does not receive his light from 
that source, and what claim has he to a seat at 
God's right hand? 

But there is no doubt of the safety and final 
happiness of the one who is led by God in all 
things, who is satisfied to be a slave as was 
Joseph ; to be hunted from den to cave as was 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DU^KLE. 271 

David ; to be cast into the fiery furnace as was 
the Hebrew children ; to sit at the Savior's feet 
like Mary ; to labor among the Gentiles like 
Paul ; or to be left alone upon an island like 
John ; all conditions being equally well received 
as coming from the hand of his Father. Pros- 
perity does not exalt him, adversity does not 
humble him, because there is nothing lower 
than he esteems himself. Glorious state of 
nothingness, where the attitude of the soul is 
like that of the mother of Jesus, u beitunto 
me according to thy word !" 

A soul made thus submissive by grace ac- 
complishes more in a day to glorify God and 
benefit souls than the entire church member- 
ship outside of such a state in a lifetime. 
Where are there such laborers ? Look on the 
fields that are white already to harvest ! Look 
at the aged and infirm just ready to cross the 
stream of death with a delusive hope ! Look 
at the middle-aged dying one by one, with but 
a trust in Jesus, but no witness of a prepara- 
tion to die ! Look at the young stricken with 
disease which enters the palace and the hut 
alike, with nothing to calm their fears but a 
belief instilled into their minds that Jesus 
loves them and will carry them in his arms to 
heaven ! Look at the children whose minds 
are plastic, just ready to receive the molding 
that will shape their destiny for time and eter- 



272 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

nity, drinking in delusion and death, with no 
fear of hell and no respect for God's justice ! 

0, for such reformers as are themselves re- 
formed ! O, for such preachers as have beea 
sanctified by the Word of God and prayer! 
0, for such ministers as understand the mys- 
tery of faith ! 0, for such leaders as are led 
alone by the Holy Ghost ! Then might we 
hope that some of the hoary-headed might die 
in assurance of eternal rest ; that the middle- 
aged Avould have not only a trust, but a wit- 
ness ; that the young would repent and find 
forgiveness, and that the children would be 
taught to reverence God's law and fear hell. 

' ' Come as a teacher sent from God, 

Charged his whole counsel to declare ; 
Lift o'er our ranks the prophet's rod, 
While we uphold thy hands with prayer." 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DILNKLE. 27% 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE WITNESS. 

" I will even betroth thee unto me in faith- 
fulness ; and thou shalt know the Lord." 

During my Christian experience I have met 
so few persons who had any positive knowl- 
edge of the witness of acceptance with God, and 
fewer still who were living in the enjoyment of 
it, that I feel it a special duty to give a testi- 
mony in reference to it, although I am aware 
it can be no better understood by those who 
have never been born again than it was by that 
ruler of the Jews, who said : ' 4 How can these 
things be V ' The Savior' s answer was : ' 6 We 
speak that we do know and testify that we 
have seen and ye receive not our witness." 

If it were positively taught that a man might 
know his sins forgiven, and that he was not 
truly forgiven, until he did know, a greater 
number would find forgiveness and fewer would 
be deceived. 

This witness is a consciousness that what we 
have sought for we have obtained. We do not 
need to force ourselves to believe it is so be- 
cause of Gfod' s loving character^ or because our 



274 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

decision and effort lias been with the whole 
heart. But it is a reality, — as positive and 
which we know as well as we do the presence 
or absence of pain. If a man sleeps and then 
awakens to full consciousness he has no need 
to force himself to believe he is awake, he is 
conscious of it ; he need not reason, " because 
I was asleep I must now be awake," he knows 
it without reasoning, and no philosophy could 
convince him to the contrary. 

So with one who has the witness. If you ask 
how he knows it, I cannot answer only as the 
Savior did to ^icodemus. God makes you to 
know it, and no power in earth or hell could 
make you doubt it, and you feel that God also 
knows you are conscious of it. 

This witness is the love of God in the heart, 
and is the only divine power of the Christian 
religion. A man may be convicted, repent, 
forsake his sins and take hold of the promise ; 
his burden may be gone; he may feel much 
better, and yet not be converted, and what he 
has done and felt will only leave him with a 
profession and not a reality. Like a house 
built on the sand, it seems all right at first, 
but in a short time it will not meet his expecta- 
tions, it does not fully satisfy him, and if he 
takes it as a true experience of salvation he 
deceives both himself and others. It would 
be far better never to make any profession of 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUMLE. 275 

religion than to come short of the real, for 
then he would be free to seek it in life, or at 
death he might possibly turn to God with full 
purpose of heart, like the thief on the cross, 
and find forgiveness. But if he already makes 
a profession he is ashamed to be found seek- 
ing for what he claims to possess, and even at 
death it prevents him from availing himself of 
his last chance of heaven. 

Yet thousands seek with an honest inten- 
tion of finding true religion, but the teaching 
to which they listen is so vague and mislead- 
ing that they take up with something less 
than knowing, as well as they know they have 
an existence, that their sins are forgiven, and so 
they are deceived. 

This is the reason so many go back to the 
world after every revival. They are disap- 
pointed and chagrined to find nothing in their 
hearts to keep them from doing as they former- 
ly had done, and so, when the helpful influ- 
ences of the extra meetings are gone they are 
disheartened and give it all up. Others go on 
with a profession through life ; they retain 
every natural desire and inclination, they fol- 
low the outward forms of religion without 
effort, and hope, as they see nothing better, 
that it is the right road to heaven. They pro- 
fess they love God, are perhaps abundant in 
good works, and when they come to die trust 



276 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

in Jesus to save them, because they know not 
what else to do. They have never been changed 
and have no knowledge of any love but what 
they have by nature and have cultivated ; no 
joy only what comes through circumstances ; 
no peace only what attends an unruffled dis- 
position, and no light only that of reason, or 
borrowed. 

A profession that requires no cross, no self- 
denial, no separation from the world, and 
which secures no persecution is congenial to 
them and they walk along with the church in 
union and fellowship. 

What must one obtain by his seeking that 
will prove to be true religion? The witness of 
a change. After having repented, confessed 
and forsaken all that God requires, he may be- 
lieve the promise, but unless he continues to 
believe until he obtains the virtue there is in it 
and knows the change has come, until he is 
conscious that if he stood at the judgment he 
is prepared for the trying ordeal by a forgive- 
ness he is perfectly satisfied will be accepted 
there, he accepts for salvation what he has no 
Scriptural authority for doing and of which he 
is warned. 

This witness produces a change so marked 
that though he may have been upright in his 
life and his deportment exemplary, yet he will 
be read and known of all men, because it is an 



OF THE LATE GEORGE D TINKLE. 277 

inward change, and it shines through every 
feature, it is manifest in every act, it per- 
meates his influence, it fills his spirit, thus 
making an impression on all with whom he 
comes in contact and attracts the attention of 
all who surround him. Why is this ? Because 
he has got religion ; he has found the Lord 
who lives in his heart and God's spirit witness- 
es with his that he is forgiven. 

Of course he is unlike all others ; of course 
he attracts attention. Did not the Savior? 
Did not the apostles everywhere they went? 
Did not Molinus, though quietly performing his 
daily duties? Did not Madam Guyon, though 
seeking refuge in retirement? 

See the difference between John Wesley be- 
fore and after he obtained this pearl of great 
price. He attracted n$ special attention when 
in form only, and in the hour of peril he trem- 
bled and feared. What attracted him to the 
simple Moravians? This witness by which 
they knew all was well even if they found a 
watery grave. What, a short time afterward, 
brought upon him a storm of opposition though 
he proclaimed similar doctrines as before? 
The power of this witness which he had ob- 
tained. 

Notwithstanding this witness is so plainly 
defined in the Scriptures, how many, many 



278 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

souls there are who profess the Christian relig- 
ion, who read in their Bibles year after year 
that "he that believeth hath the witness in 
himself," and "we know we are of God," and 
kindred truths, and yet never know their true 
meaning. They say they love God, but have 
no heart acquaintance with him, but simply 
say so because they read of his love in the Holy 
Book and because it is customary. 

They trust in him because that also is fre- 
quently mentioned in the Scriptures, but never 
stop to examine whether they have any ground 
for such a trust,— whether they can trust in 
him without the witness, or ought to without 
the knowledge of a change. They work fo r 
him without believing his words : "This is the 
work of God, that ye believe on him whom he 
hath sent," and hope* by all this to reach 
heaven ; and at last they die trusting in him 
because they have lived in that way, and all 
efforts by the Holy Ghost to convince them of 
their unsaved condition having proved unavail- 
ing, they are left to trust without knowing that 
the claims of God are fulfilled in them, and 
they go to their final reward without any other 
preparation. 

What can they say in their own defense 
when before the last tribunal ? Will they say : 
4 ' Lord I loved thee, I trusted in thee, and I 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 279 

worked for thee?" Suppose there is an ex- 
amination as to the validity of this testimony. 
God says : "I love them that love me ; ' ' but 
can he love those whom he has not forgiven 
when he says : ' 6 He is angry with the wicked 
everyday?" Those whom he forgives know- 
it as well as they know they breathe, and he 
who has no such knowledge is not forgiven. 

Is it supposable that he who has no witness 
of forgiveness has any ground for trusting that 
he will be saved ? Forgiveness does not come 
by loving, nor by trusting, nor by good works, 
but by complying with the conditions of salva- 
tion, and by continuous belief of the promise 
until it is realized. He may trust all the days 
of his life, but it brings no virtue from the 
promise ; but having received the witness he 
may, yea must, u trust in the Lord with all his 
heart and lean not to his own understanding." 

Of what avail are his works without the wit- 
ness, when God said to the wicked: "What 
hast thou to do to declare my statutes ?" and 
" Every tree is known by its fruit ; " so that if 
he is not in possession of the witness it is im- 
possible for him to lead others into it. This is 
the difference between the false and the true 
Christianity. 

Some have once known this witness, and if 
you ask one of this class if he enjoys what he 



280 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

once did lie will say : "No, I once had the 
witness as bright as the noonday sun, but it is 
not so now ; yet I love the Lord and would not 
give up my hope of heaven for worlds." This 
is false Christianity. When he lost his witness 
he lost his love and the foundation of his hope. 
If he is not in the possession of the fulness of 
the witness he once enjoyed he is fallen from 
grace and has no true religion. Yet it is very 
difficult to convince him of the truthfulness of 
this fact, he seems so bent on believing he has 
salvation still. The knowledge of what he 
once enjoyed he calls love, and because of this 
love he hopes and labors. 

But there are many truths to prove his posi- 
tion false. One truth says : " The path of the 
just is as a shining light which shineth more 
and more unto the perfect day." So, certain- 
ly if he continues to be the just man his wit- 
ness, instead of growing less, would continue to 
grow brighter and brighter. Again, how could 
he lose the witness only by disobedience ! and 
how many times must he disobey to fall into 
sin ? and how many sins can he commit and yet 
retain the witness of God's favor? 

This is a great delusion into which many are 
fallen. It is humiliating to own the truth, and 
it requires a cross to confess it, so the easier 
way is preferred ; but it does not end in heaven, 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 281 

as none but those who have the witness are ad- 
mitted there. 

Those who have obtained it and retain it 
grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth ; 
they are faithful even unto death, through 
trials and persecutions, but they have heaven 
within ; for where the witness is there is God, 
and where God is there is heaven. 



282 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

SCRIPTURAL RESTRAINT. 

1 c Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, 
we persuade men." 

God' s law promises a blessing to the obedient 
and a curse to the disobedient. The blessing is 
held before man as an incentive to holiness, 
and the curse as a restraint to sin. 

The punishment promised to Adam if he dis- 
obeyed God's command he disbelieved, and so 
lost the benefit of the restraint its fear was de- 
signed to produce. 

The law was designed to lead aright, its 
promises of good and evil were rightly balanced, 
and man was left free to choose his own course. 
Those who believed the law feared to disobey 
it, the curses promised having a restraining in- 
fluence ; but as soon as unbelief began to creep 
in the fear began to diminish and the restraint 
was gone. 

The incentive to obedience by the blessings 
promised was not sufficient to keep them in 
the strict way the law marked out, and con- 
tinually they were disregarding the statutes and 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DTOKLE. 283 

judgments of the Lord and following in the 
way of the idolatrous nations by whom they 
were surrounded. From their course we just- 
ly infer that they did not truly believe God's 
curse would come upon them as he had prom- 
ised, even if they deviated from the strictness 
of his commands ; yet the record shows he ful- 
filled his promise and they were cursed in bas- 
ket, in store, in their going out and coming in, 
in all that pertained to them ; and finally in 
their utter rejection by God, their captivity, 
and even to Jerusalem, not one stone of that 
once holy city was left upon another, and that 
race, once God's chosen people, was scattered 
among all the nations of the earth. By tracing 
effect back to its cause, their rejection, captivity 
and dispersion were inconsequence of their un- 
belief. Under the gospel the same result from 
the same cause is seen ; life, God, and heaven 
are promised on the conditions of faith and 
obedience, and death, delusion, and hell follow 
unbelief and disobedience. 

Love and fear were the influences by which 
God designed to rule his people. To lessen in 
any degree the power of either is to divert the 
mind from this divine purpose, as none can 
truly love without fearing him, and none can 
truly fear without being led to love him. 

In view of man' s estranged condition, his sin- 
ful nature and his rebellious will, love will not 



584 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

keep him from sin, but the fear of hell will in- 
duce him to turn to the truth ; and only so far 
as this fear is instilled into the mind will the 
world cease from sin and love holiness. Who 
would ever think of taking up the cross and 
practicing the self- denial requisite to salvation if 
it were not to escape hell ? Who would forsake 
father, mother, wife, children, houses, and 
lands, unless they believed in a lake of fire and 
brimstone ? Who would cut off right hands or 
pluck out right eyes unless they feared the 
worm that dieth not and the fire that is not 
quenched? Who would endure the scoffs, 
sneers, and persecutions of the world for Christ's 
sake, if they did not believe in an endless place 
of torment ? The joys of heaven would never 
do it, and God' s love alone would never lead a 
sinner to true repentance nor keep him in the 
narrow way until death. 

Why, then, are there so few who take a Scrip- 
tural course through life? Because they be- 
lieve Satan's declaration to Adam: ' 4 Thou 
shalt not surely die." They either believe God 
will not do as he affirmed he would with the 
human family, or that there is no hell, or that 
it is not endless, or that it is not what it is 
portrayed to be in the Scriptures. 

What sane man would walk to the stake to 
be burned alive of his own free will and choice? 
The fear of the certain suffering would restrain 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 285 

him, and even if he wished to commit suicide 
he would choose some method attended with 
less excruciating torture. So any one and 
every one who really believes the Scriptural 
record of the future abode of the wicked would 
gladly do every thing required to escape it. He 
would teach it to his children from childhood \ 
it would be his theme when he came in and 
when he w 7 ent out ; he would warn his friends 
and neighbors of it ; and if he was a public 
teacher it would be the central point of all his 
discourses. " Knowing the terror of the Lord, 
he would persuade men. ' ' Instead of this what 
are the plain facts? Universal ism has gained 
such a secret hold on the entire Christian teach- 
ing that fear has been supplanted by love, 
which is made the ruling influence of restraint 
to sin and is believed to be a great improvement 
on the older method of commanding respect at 
least by fear. 

Children are governed by love and are a 
shame to their parents if opposed in their 
wishes, because they have never been taught 
to respect their authority by fear of punish- 
ment. 

The world is taught the love of Jesus, the 
happiness of a Christian life, the glory of a 
Christian's work, his triumphant death, and 
the joys of heaven ; but little or nothing is 
said of the wrath of Almighty God upon the 



286 EXTEACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

disobedient, nor the smoke of their torment 
which ascendeth up day and night forever and 
ever in the presence of the holy angels and the 
Lamb. 

This teaching has a special and a general 
influence. In general, an easy, self-indulgent 
life, or excessive labor in the name of the Lord, 
with half of the truths in the Bible disregarded, 
is the result. Its special influence so dulls the 
conscience that the strivings of the Holy Ghost 
are ignored or attributed to temptations, so 
that the truths he presents to the mind, instead 
of being received as he presents them, are 
wrested, misapplied, or rejected as mistransla- 
tions by recourse to the writings of men or the 
reasonings of the mind. 

Ah ! these are the times that try the souls of 
the righteous ! These the days of affliction to 
those who see light in God's light! What is 
this universal effort to evangelize the world ? 
It is gilded with the appearance of a holy work, 
but if the glittering gauze were removed it 
would discover theSe workers as unregenerated, 
that their principles are not upright, that their 
teachings are but the commandments of men. 

Without the vital witness of acceptance with 
God, their principles will bend to the demands 
of the age and their teachings cannot reach the 
heart. 

What can the righteous do ? He is like a 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 287 

sheep in the midst of wolves, but he can follow 
the examples of the prophets, Christ and the 
apostles ; expose the wrong and explain the 
right; condemn the false and hold forth the 
true. Think you he will not be like a sparrow 
alone upon the housetop ? Will he not be like 
Paul who at his first answer was alone with 
none to stand by him ? But among the ignor- 
ant, the poor, the vile and the down trodden, 
there may be some who will hear the report 
and turn fully to the Lord. 

The demand for a reformer in these times is 
equally as great as when such men as Phineas, 
Elijah, and Ezra, the twelve apostles and Paul, 
Jerome, and Wickliffe saw the wickedness and 
error into which the professed world had fallen, 
and stood like a fenced brazen wall, like a city 
on a hill, and fearlessly exposed the sins and in- 
iquities under the cover of a profession and the 
false doctrines taught by deluded or designing 
men. 

What iniquity is covered up in these pro- 
fessed Christian churches ! What lying and 
backbiting, dishonesty and illicit desire ! Yea, 
even what fornication and uncleanness ! 

The doctrine of love, now a universal theme, 
has taken away the fear of future punishment 
and the only restraint to sin is gone. Nations 
are in distress, the oppressed seek in bloodshed 
a redress for their wrongs, the defrauded find 



288 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

in law no justice, the indigent from the rulers 
no help ; and who knows that the cause is in 
the false religious teaching ? 

Man's life, like a shadow, declineth. With 
no restraint by fear of the future, his troubles, 
instead of being taken as from God for his 
spiritual good to wean his mind from earthly 
things, is taken as from nature or man, and of 
man he seeks aid or revenge. With no fear of 
hell every man follows the imagination or in- 
clination of his own mind, and Atheism, Deism, 
or Universalism is the result. With none to 
raise a positive standard of truth for faith and 
practice by which to mold the conscience, 
every man is left to believe as he wills. 

This is not a false representation nor a dis- 
torted view of the moral condition of the pro- 
fessed Christian world; but the delusion of 
their love and good works has so blinded the 
mind that the state is like that of a man who 
has been brought up a slave ; he thinks nothing 
of freedom unless he sees something by which 
to contrast his condition. If brought up in ig- 
norance, he has no thirst for knowledge, unless 
he is made by some circumstance to feel the 
need of it. If he is brought up to believe God' s 
words are not strict requirement, it is but one 
step farther to deny its authenticity entirely. 
If he seldom or never hears of the lake of fire 
and brimstone, he naturally thinks it is a myth, 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 289 

a figure of speech, or an indefinite something 
that is of little importance. Yet hell is the 
summing up of all of God's displeasure, the 
consummation of all the curses upon those who, 
having transgressed the law, slighted the offers 
of pardon, ignored the impressions of the Holy- 
Ghost, evade the claims of the Supreme Being, 
and die without a radical change. Is it a small 
matter that the only restraint to sin is growing 
less and less ? Is it of little consequence that 
the belief in an endless hell is being reasoned 
away more and more by this false teaching ? 

I declare to you, as I expect to meet you at 
the bar of God, that you will find God's Word 
meant just what the Spirit impressed upon you, 
and not what you thought it probably meant 
from the multitude of the writings of men. 
You will also find to your infinite sorrow that 
hell was truly and faithfully described in the 
Bible. 



290 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

DELUSION. 

" Yea, they have chosen their own ways and 
their soul delighted in their abominations. I 
also will choose their delusions and will bring 
their fears upon them ; because when I spake 
they did not hear, but they did evil before 
mine eyes and chose that in which I delighted 
not." 

By Isaiah, and also by Paul, God declared 
this delusion should come upon all those who 
refuse to hear his words, who choose their own 
way in which he takes no delight, and because 
they receive not the love of the truth. If they 
heard what he spake they would believe it ; if 
they believed it they would walk in his ways ; 
and the result would be they would receive the 
love of the truth, which is the life of God in the 
soul, which saves from sin and hell. 

When the report came they heard it with 
the outward ear, but with the ear of the heart 
they changed its meaning or lessened its force. 
They desired to walk in their own ways, those 
which required no cross, no effort, and so 
blunted its edges that it made no division be- 
tween soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DTOKLE. 291 

the thoughts and intents of the heart were not 
discerned. 

These souls are left to believe a lie : to be- 
lieve that they love Jesus and he loves them ; 
that they trust in him, and that he acknowl- 
edges the confidence ; that their works are 
owned and blessed of God, and that they will 
be rewarded accordingly. 

This is the most dangerous and hopeless of 
any possible condition in which man by sin 
places himself, short of sealing his destiny by 
sinning against the Holy Ghost. Nothing now 
but the judgments of God can awaken him to a 
sense of his true condition. The voice of mercy 
was disregarded and no longer produced any 
effect long ere this delusion was sent upon him, 
and God's only recourse is to judgments. 

He is left in delusive slumber perhaps for 
years ; he has no conviction, he believes he is 
satisfied, nothing in particular jars him; he at- 
tributes his continual peace to God' s blessing, 
and he is all unconscious that God has sent him 
this delusion. In some uncommon way or as a 
thunderbolt from a cloudless sky, judgments 
come upon him, reverses, disappointments, ac- 
cidents, sickness, or death of loved ones occur, 
and he stops a moment, appalled by the blow. 
This is God's hand to awaken him from his 
slumber, to give him one more opportunity to 
save his soul. He sadly ponders it over day 



292 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

after day, and night after night his rest is 
broken in consequence of it. If he humbles 
his heart, meekly turns to God and seeks after 
his ways, God will again speak to him, show 
him his true condition and the way of life. 

If faithful to the convictions now received he 
may at the eleventh hour obtain God's favor 
and thus, snatched as brands from the burning, 
he may escape hell and gain heaven. But if 
he passes by the visitation as the common lot 
of mankind, and hardens his heart like Phara- 
oh, his delusion becomes greater, his faith in 
it more firm, and though God may consume 
him in judgments, it will be a rare case indeed 
if he will receive the love of the truth. 

The churches are filled with this delusion: 
some pursue an even, indifferent course; others, 
stirred by zeal in a different way, become very 
active in church work, attending every meet- 
ing, always among the foremost in prayer or 
testimony, ever ready to invite sinners to re- 
pentance and to exhort the lukewarm to more 
zeal. These are the prominent ones in every 
society and are held up as examples worthy of 
imitation; they have a widespread influence of 
which they are vain, and on that account are 
less liable to be affected by God's judgments. 

There is still another class of deluded ones 
who once lived in the light and enjoyment of 
God's love, and having lost it continue to ad- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE BUCKLE. 293 

vance, not in divine light, love and strength, 
but in delusion. They are perhaps separated 
from the churches, have no confidence in their 
form without the power, can see their conform 
ity to the world, their inconsistencies, their 
corruption. They have a zeal, but not accord- 
ing to knowledge ; they see visions and dream 
dreams; they have great illuminations by Satan 
and are familiar with the Scriptures. They 
are strange and eccentric in their ways and 
demonstrative in their worship; pray with 
a loud voice, speak with great physical power, 
gesticulate wildly, and in many ways their de- 
portment is unbecoming good manners and 
Christian decorum. Because of this zeal they 
are self-sufficient, exalted, and bigoted, and to 
them this truth may be rightly applied : 6 fc Seest 
thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is 
more hope of a fool than of him." It is very 
seldom such a person can by any means be 
brought to a knowledge of his true condition. 

Afflictions he takes for his good, but they do 
not change him ; reverses and disappointments 
he endeavors to bear as did Job, but they fail 
to show him what Job saw when he said, " I 
abhor myself ;' ' accidents he accepts as for 
some purpose, unknown perhaps, and sickness 
and death of loved ones he places among the 
many afflictions of the? righteous. 

He takes this course because of his former 



294 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMOXS 

light when in a saved condition. He then had 
a true confidence and saw all events overruled 
by God for his good ; and so retaining the 
same knowledge still, that with which God 
designed to awaken him to his true condition 
he takes as evidence of his favor. 

What can possibly benefit him \ Mercy has 
failed to enlighten and judgments have failed 
to awaken him, and he dies and is lost. Sad- 
dest of all fates, to believe a lie, to become so 
self-righteous as to believe God will accept as 
humility what is exalted ; as true faith what is 
but zeal ; as power what is only noise ; as love 
only that of the natural life. Yet there are 
many who are thus led captive by Satan at his 
will, and in many forms and by many ways he 
holds the bondage good, until they find them- 
selves like the man at the wedding feast, with- 
out the proper garment, and will hear the voice 
of the king : 4 ' Bind him hand and foot and 
take him away, and cast him into outer dark- 
ness ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth." 

There is a little secret dishonesty in every 
one of these deluded souls, and for a time, at 
least, there is some degree of consciousness of 
the fact. They do some things they are con- 
scious are not just right ; they neglect some 
things they know it is right to do, and they 
give countenance to thoughts and feelings in 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 295 

their hearts they know would be condemned at 
the bar of God. They sometimes secretly re- 
pent of these things, but still they continue to 
repeat them and have no power to prevent doing 
so, which should convince them of their true 
state ; but they finally decide that perfection is 
only in love and not in obedience, and that 
none are free from such faults. By this de- 
cision the last faint voice of conscience is stilled 
and they settle down in dishonesty, until they 
are left to believe they are really and truly 
Christians and will gain heaven. 

These souls may die as they lived, shouting 
the praises of God, as death' s open door does 
not change the mind, the heart, or the faith ; 
but the last assize will reveal all hearts as God's 
Word defines them. 

Happy is he who knows his true condition, 
even if unsaved, compared with those to whom 
God has sent strong delusions and has left to 
believe a lie. Truly and eternally happy is he 
who believes the truth and is honest enough.to 
lay his heart bare before it ; who thinks his 
soul of sufficient value to acknowledge its true 
condition, and seeks its salvation by the divine 
law. 



296 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

TALENTS. 

' ' There was a certain rich man which had a 
steward ; and the same was accused unto him 
that he had wasted his goods." 

Christ' s parable of the talents is a figure to 
show the grace of God given to man, whether 
it is much or little, whether it is at the begin- 
ning of the Christian life, after advancement 
has been ma'de, or deliverance from the depraved 
nature has been realized. 

Improvement of the grace is the expectation 
and requirement of that Being who alone can 
bestow it and who is pleased with nothing short 
of his own and its use. How this improve- 
ment is to be made is the all important ques- 
tion that should most engross the attention of 
the one to whom grace is given. By the prevail- 
ing religious influence it is taught to be gained 
by study and good works, and he who labors 
most assiduously to store his mind with the 
writings of men to obtain the knowledge of 
ethics and classics, of science and theology, is 
called the most talented ; and if he unites with 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 297 

it abundant labors for the evangelization of 
the world or the elevation of mankind, he is 
held to be the greatest light and power on 
earth, and is supposed to gain a high seat in 
heaven as a reward of his efforts. The wise 
and the prudent are entitled to their own views ; 
but the babe in Christ who has any divine light 
or knowledge of the order of God knows that 
all such improvement is in the human arrange- 
ment, but is foolishness with God, whose ar- 
rangement is designed and conducted within 
the limits of his law. 

How, then, is the required improvement to 
be regained, or how can the one talent of grace 
gain one beside, or the two gain two, or the five 
gain five? By simple faith and obedience. He 
that has one has but the grace of conversion ; 
his sins are forgiven, and he is happy in the 
Lord. But unless he takes a Scriptural course 
he will lose his witness, and when the time of 
settlement comes he has nothing to offer but 
the one talent that had been hidden under a 
profession without a reality. Many times and 
fo£ many years he may have referred to it in 
his testimony, and would become happy and 
praise the Lord at remembrance of the joys 
then felt ; but he can tell of nothing more, the 
talent has gained nothing ; indeed, it has been 
buried in the earth and his excuses and reasons 
for so doing are of no avail, as the Lord said : 



298 



EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 



6 4 Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer 
darkness," etc. 

If lie had taken the course marked out by 
the Scriptures, as soon as grace was given, he 
would have begun a Christian life by a com- 
mittal to the divine law ; he would commence 
to live by every word of God. Not that he un- 
derstands all the truth, —far from it ; he is but 
a babe ; he knows but very little of the Word. 
But he keeps his eye single, fixed on one ob- 
ject, and his body is full of light. He sees 
truth after truth in God's light, believes it, 
obeys it, and holds on to it until he knows it. 

This will lead him, not in a circle, but heav- 
enward in a straight line ; it will keep him 
from all the traps and snares set for his feet, 
and if he walks in this way long enough he 
will double his talent. He will realize another 
change ; and if called upon to settle his account 
he could say : " Lord, thy talent has gained 
another talent." If he continues to walk by 
the same rule and mind the same thing his two 
talents or five will double again, until all the 
changes necessary to salvation are realized and 
he is trusted with all things. "For all things 
are yours, and ye are Christ's and Christ is 
God's." 

Two persons having become converted and 
are equally faithful are, by their experience, 
made one in Christ Jesus. One may have been 



OF THE LATE GEOKGE DU^KLE. 299 

highly educated and refined and the other ig- 
norant and vile. The one who had much for- 
given loved much and was called up higher by 
the grace of God ; the other, subdued by grace 
and humbled by a just use of the light he 
received, is brought down until they meet on 
the common level upon which all who enter 
heaven stand ; and in the future world there 
are but two grades, — "him that serveth Grod 
and him that serveth him not." 



300 EXTRACTS FRO^L THE SERMONS 



CHAPTER XXX. 

ERRORS. 

"Brethren, if any of you do err from the 
truth, and one convert him ; let him know that 
he which converteth the sinner from the error 
of his way shall save a soul from death, and 
shall hide a multitude of sins." 

It is evident from the sacred writings and 
from experience that there is nothing in the 
Scriptures but what is necessary and indispens- 
able to the salvation of the souls of the child- 
ren of men; and also that there is nothing 
lacking by which to complete the change from 
nature to grace, to restore the soul to its original 
purity, to make it wise unto salvation, to 
keep it from the evil in the world and the 
snares of Satan. Hence it is imperative that 
its parts should be kept intact, its original 
meaning preserved unchanged, its doctrines 
uncorrupted, its claims unwrested, and all its 
precepts rightly applied. Unless this is done 
it will destroy instead of save, as from the 
text an error from the truth is fatal, — it consti- 
tutes a person a sinner. But let him know 
that he who converteth this sinner (who has 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUKKLE. 301 

erred from the truth) from this error into which 
he has fallen shall save his soul, and also pre- 
vent the harm his error would do to others over 
whom he would have an influence. 

.Of such infinite importance is this that the 
Savior after teaching the narrow and broad 
way, the very next thing warned his followers 
against false prophets who should teach con- 
trary to it, and added: " Ye shall know them 
by their fruits that is, by the doctrines they 
bring forth. 

It is all important to know how the Scrip- 
tures can be properly connected, its original 
meaning understood, its doctrines kept pure, 
its claims unbiased, and all commands rightly 
applied. 

If you have recourse to the writing of men 
you have no assurance that their views are 
more correct than your own. If you go to the 
ancient languages you are not certain that 
words and connections may not have been lost 
or changed during the ages since parchment 
gave place to printing, or even from the era of 
printing to the version of St. James. So all is 
uncertainty as far as human help is concerned, 
in which the unfathomable wisdom of God is 
clearly shown. If his will could be understood in 
that way his plan of saving souls is useless. If 
man by searching the writings of other men 3 
either in their own tongue or that in which the 



302 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

Bible was given, could know its true meaning, 
how long before it would be destroyed by th6 
reasonings of the mind ? Skeptics and cavilers 
would long ago have so divided and changed 
it that it would be of no more value to the soul 
than any other production of the human mind. 
But God in his love to the human family and 
in his solicitude for their salvation sent it forth 
in parables ; and the Savior explained it when 
he said : u To you it is given to know the mys- 
teries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them 
in parables." 

The natural meaning of truth all may see 
and understand ; but the spiritual meaning no 
one can by any possible way or effort know, 
only as revealed by the Holy Ghost. He in- 
spired it ; and like as a man may have a mean- 
ing in his mind that his language does not 
clearly define, and no one can see positively 
but himself, so with the Spirit. He, and he 
alone, knows what was his meaning in those 
commands to sinners, to the ungodly and to 
the saints. 

Yet see the foolishness of man in laboring 
and striving by the reasonings of the mind or 
by recourse to other minds to find doctrines 
and discours by which to enlighten and save 
the world. 

Of what use is the Holy Ghost in the plan of 
redemption if man by his own powers and effort 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 303 

could know the will of God 1 Yet as far as his 
work or aid is concerned among the leaders of 
the Christian religion of to-day, there might as 
well have been but two persons in the God- 
head. He is a personage unknown and disre- 
garded. The consequence is, the world is with- 
out restraint, the church is in darkness, the 
leaders in error, and the blind are leading the 
blind. 

Sophistry has begotten error, error sin, and 
sin death, un til the people are sitting in dark- 
ness, in the region and shadow of death, and no 
light springs up to guide their steps aright. 

The record of Christ and the apostles is gen- 
erally received in this land, but the hidden 
spiritual light is almost unknown, so far has 
philosophy and human wisdom superseded the 
humble way of waiting for light at the door 
of God's arrangement. 

Yes, it matters much what a man believes, 
for error cannot save him from sin. It is of 
great importance what a man believes in his 
head, for from that source only is there a di- 
rect communication to the heart, and false 
doctrine will not change it. It is of infinite 
importance that he believes what the Holy 
Ghost reveals, and no more, for only that 
will make him holy, short of which he is not 
Scripturally saved. Yet the bare idea of being 
led by the Spirit, or impressed by the Spirit, 



304 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

or obtaining light by the Spirit, is held in such a 
skeptical light that if one ventures to even as- 
sert a belief in its authenticity he is at once an 
object of suspicion ; and if he has courage 
enough to claim to be so enlightened and di- 
rected he is branded as insane or immoral ; and 
this, too, from those who are professed Chris- 
tians, who claim to love Jesus, who hold the 
Bible as a divine record, and who subscribe to 
its teachings as the only rule of faith and prac- 
tice. 

Because some have made bad use of the 
Scriptures, is it any reason I should reject or 
doubt any part of them ? Because some claim- 
ing to be led by the Spirit have been led 
astray, is it any reason I should refuse to be 
led by the Holy Ghost? Because some have 
followed impressions to immoral conduct and 
gross crimes, is it any reason I should fear to 
follow the only means of knowing my duty to 
myself, my neighbor, and God ? Because some 
have received a light not harmonious with 
truth, by a spirit not divine, is that any reason 
I should try to study out my own light by 
which to make my way from earth to heaven ? 
Nay, verily! "Let God be true, but every 
man a liar." "As many as are led by the 
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God/' 
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, 
he shall teach you all things and bring all 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 305 

things to your remembrance whatsoever I have 
said unto you." 

We admit there is great harm done, many 
false practices and sins fallen into, by giving 
up the mind to the control of any spirit not tru- 
ly the holy one. We also admit that what is not 
reasonable is not right, and also that no duty 
impressed by the right spirit violates any 
truth, as the divine Spirit and the Word agree. 
But is it left so indefinite that a man may not 
or cannot know which spirit leads him ? I 
cannot believe God, who knows the dullness 
and ignorance of the human mind, has left his 
arrangement so loosely joined that the opera* 
tions and presence of the Holy Grhost is so in- 
definite and mysterious that there is no cer- 
tainty of his work. The Word makes the true 
and false so plain, and the right Spirit makes 
himself so clearly and positively felt that 
u wayfaring men though fools shall not err 
therein," — the truthfulness of which is not 
changed because it is not believed. Yet cer- 
tainly there is p^itive danger of delusion, 
errors, and all manner of wickedness to any 
and every one who seeks the Lord outside of 
his plan, who fails to keep a single eye or de- 
viates from the line and plummet of sacred 
truth. 

Herein is the secret. If the starting point is 
wrong all is wrong; but if the beginning is 



306 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

right the narrow way may be kept and the end 
will be right. But to start in the Christian 
life with a defective experience opens the way 
for Satan to have exclusive control ; and even 
if the beginning is with a real change of heart, 
there is danger lurking on all sides. Unless 
there is strict heed taken to the waymarks of 
truth it is impossible to retain the witness, and 
when that is gone the soul is a fit subject to 
embrace any error, to be led by any spirit but 
the right one, and to follow any delusion. 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 307 



CHAPTEE XXXI. 

CAUSE FOR THANKS. 

u Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable 
gift." 

As Job in the anguish of his heart, suffering 
under the afflictions which were designed for 
his greatest good, yet unable to see their de- 
sign, cursed the day he was born, so have I 
many times endured such inward suffering, not 
knowing its cause or design, that I cried out 
in the bitterness of my spirit: u My life is 
spent with grief and my years with sighing," 
so that I sometimes thought it would have been 
better not to have had an existence. 

When the design of the suffering was accom- 
plished and I saw the glorious object of my 
being, I felt with Job, that I had uttered 
things "I understood not ; things too wonder- 
ful for me that I knew not ; ' ' and I gave thanks 
to God for my existence, — a life, not for my 
own use or pleasure, but for G-od. 

But what training, what suffering, what a 
furnace of affliction must a soul needs go 
through before God finds him upright and pli- 
able enough to be of use in his cause or afford- 
ing him any pleasure. 



308 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

My greatest cause for thankfulness is to have 
heard the sound of the gospel,— not corrupted 
doctrines, nor wrested truths, but that pure,, 
unadulterated gospel that' teaches but two 
ways, the narrow and the broad ; two kingdoms, 
Christ's and Belial's; two services, God r s and 
mammon's. 

This gospel shows me my true condition 
which I see as G-od sees it, and is light making 
manifest my sins committed against him, any 
wrong I may have done my neighbor, my sin- 
ful nature by birth and any habits, manners 
or ways that are not pleasing to him. How 
many there are who hear nothing from year to 
year but false doctrines, which are designed to 
cover up the true state of the heart and make 
man think of himself more highly than he 
ought to think. These errors so blind him 
that he never compares himself soberly and 
honestly with the Word of God. 

This gospel then shows me what provision. 
God has made to save me from this deplorably 
unhappy condition ; to forgive my sins, to 
change my depraved nature, to regulate every 
habit, manner and way, so that my whole 
spiritual being may be in harmony with his 
mind and will. 

It shows me that this provision is in the life, 
suffering, death, and resurrection of his Son, 
the Lord Jesus Christ ; that although this pro- 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUMLE. 309 

. vision has been made so freely and at so great 
a cost, yet it is of no benefit to me unless it is 
made personally available. 

It shows me it is available to the whole hu- 
man family without exception by the Holy 
Ghost upon certain conditions ; that these 
conditions are contained in the Bible, — God's 
will to man, wherein .is shown a strait, unde- 
viating way to pursue ; where also the opposite 
is so plainly described as to leave no excuse 
for pursuing it; that therein are laid down 
laws and rules to direct and guide me which 
are imperative and cannot be changed, evaded, 
or annulled throughout time ; that this way 
begins with a decision to obey God, followed 
Tby repentance, confession, forsaking and be- 
lieving, which are the fundamental principles 
upon which the Christian religion is founded. 
As in mathematics all problems are solved by 
the use of the rudiments of the science, so all 
the knowledge and experience ever obtained 
by the provision comes by observing these 
principles. It shows all the difficulties in the 
way coming from the world, the flesh and the 
devil, the course to take, the truths to believe 
and obey, to be a continued and final over- 
comer, the sacrifice required to forsake all that 
life holds dear, yea, the life also, and the sell- 
ing of all that is possessed to become perfect, 
and who are my friends. 



310 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

After showing me the provision, the diffi- 
culties and the sacrifices, it also shows me the 
inducements to pursue the right course, and the 
rewards. 

The inducements to escape the wrath and 
judgments of God and an endless hell are : di- 
vine love, the only satisfying element of the 
soul, the peace of Christ, and the joy of the 
Holy Ghost, fourfold of all things forsaken, with 
persecution and heaven. 

With all this in view it shows the advisability 
and necessity of calmly and deliberately sitting 
down and counting the cost to see if the gain 
will overbalance the loss and effort, and if the 
faith and determination is sufficient to conquer 
at all hazards ; as it would be better not to 
undertake to build if there is a failure to fin- 
ish, nor attempt a warfare unless positive of 
means at hand to insure victory. 

It shows me the many call of "Lo, here is 
Christ," that comes from every direction in this 
land of religious liberty, where every hamlet 
contains a church whose spire points heaven- 
ward, every village with many religious socie- 
ties holding different views of the Bible, and 
cities pointing with pride to the numerous 
grand edifices where the people gather to hear 
instruction and to worship. 

It shows Christ is not divided, and of any 
two creeds but one is the apostles', of two faiths 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUJSTKLE. 311 

but one can change the heart, of two doctrines 
but one is that of the Father and the Son, and 
of the many gospels preached that delivered to 
the leaders by the Holy Ghost, which embraces 
and holds in practice the prophets, the apostles 
and Jesus, and is applied to the heart by the 
same spirit, is the only one accepted of God. 

This one stands out separate and distinct 
from all others like a beacon light. It has no 
communion or fellowship, does not receive nor 
bid God-speed any other faith. It is the church 
of Christ embracing all of like faith and prac- 
tice on earth and in heaven. It has the only 
true faith, the only Holy Grhost religion, the 
only right instruction, and who are the only 
ones in the narrow way. 

Glorious ! transcendently glorious ! Thou 
everlasting gospel ! Thou saver of the soul ! 
Thou divider between light and darkness ! Thou 
separator between saints and sinners ! Thou joy 
to the believer ! Thou condemnation to all 
unlike thyself ! Thou great gulf fixed between 
heaven and hell ! 

Thanks be unto Father, Son and Holy Ghost 
for thee — eternal light, everlasting joy, endless 
adoration. Not an event in life but was de- 
signed to drive or lead to thee. Not one lives 
in glory who came from earth unless begotten 
by thee. Not one in hell from earth but who 
rejected thy good will to man. No wonder Paul 



312 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

said : "If we or another preach any other 
gospel, let him be accursed," — to which my 
heart says "Amen ! " 

What is this gospel? It is the doctrine of 
salvation. What is preaching ! It is explana- 
tion. What is meant by preaching the gospel ? 
Explaining the only way to escape hell and 
gain heaven. 

Will false doctrines do this ? Yes, if there 
are many ways, as there are into a city, and if 
the King of the city will not ask ns which way 
we came, — as we hear taught from every pulpit 
in the land. But remember the authority for 
these many ways is man, and not Christ, who 
taught but one, and that one a narrow way, but 
just wide enough to admit the soul after having 
laid aside everything the Word condemns. 

There is also a daily cross to take up which 
if neglected turns you out of the way. No al- 
lowance for sin is in it, no doctrine but what 
is confirmed by all truth, and no worldly friend 
or pleasure ; but the end is life, glory and end- 
less happiness. 

Thanks to God for the gospel ! Thanks to 
Christ for its merits ! Thanks to the Holy 
Ghost that it saved my soul! Ah! why has 
the professed world left it for the command- 
ments of men ? Why does it follow vain bab- 
lings of science, of philosophy and of logic ? 

Where is the choice among all the churches? 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DU^KLE. 313 

Those who come nearest to the true pattern 
deceive the most, and those who are the farth- 
est away teach for doctrines the commandments 
of men also. 

Are there any who yet hear the voice of God 
saying: "Come out of her my people, that ye 
partake not of her sins and receive not of her 
plagues ?" 

If this applies to the Romish church, it ap- 
plies equally to all bodies who have left the 
true faith she once possessed. God will judge 
a Jew, a Catholic, a Protestant, and an unbe- 
liever by one law. All who have broken it 
(and there are none who have not) are held 
guilty prisoners by it until acquitted by obedi- 
ence to its requirements and faith in its prom- 
ises. Yes, thanks, all thanks for the gospel ! 
the only good to man ! the light that shines in 
darkness ! the divine law to the human family ! 
No wonder Paul was ready not only to be 
bound, but to die in its defense. No wonder 
Peter chose to be crucified with his head down- 
ward rather than again be unfaithful to it. No 
wonder true Christians have always chosen to 
suffer affliction rather than to enjoy the pleasures 
of sin for a season, having respect unto the 
recompense of reward. They have always been 
a separate people on earth, as "he that depart- 
eth. from iniquity maketh himself a prey." 



314 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

They have always been, are now, and always 
will be persecuted, afflicted, tormented, of 
whom the world is not worthy. Yet who, 
when weighing both sides, will choose to have 
his good things in this life at the expense of 
heaven? Who, when really believing the 
Bible record of the ending of the broad way, 
will not make an effort to get out of it? Who 
that believes in an endless hell would not do 
anything and everything possible to escape it ? 
Who, when he reads of the rich man and Laz- 
arus, would not be an outcast, with none but 
dogs to care for his sores and no food but the 
waste from the rich man's table, and a final 
rest in Abraham's bosom, rather than no cross, 
no self-denial, friends, influence, ease, and then 
call for one drop of water to cool his tongue in 
eternity ? 

Ah ! I tell you again Universalism is gaining 
a place in you, and philosophy is reasoning 
away the justice of G-od in thus dealing with 
the human family ; and if you wait to sea 
whether your reasonings have changed God's 
law it will be too late to make any amends. 

Better would it be if you would read your 
Bible without reasoning and trying to make it 
mean something else. Better would it be if 
you would believe it as it is, like a little child, 
and glorious it would be if you continued to 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DOTKLE. 315 



believe it until you decided to obey it, for in 
the end angels would carry you to Abraham' s 
bosom. 

" Blessed gospel, well I love it, 
How it doth my spirit cheer ! 
What on earth like this to covet ? 
O, what stores of wealth are here ! 

Man was lost and doomed to sorrow, 

Not one ray of hope or bliss 
Could he from earth's wisdom borrow; 

Now his way is cheered by this." 

Thanks again and again for this unspeakable 
gift to man ! By it every false way is brought 
to light, every covering of disobedience is re- 
moved, the crooked is made straight, and every 
rough place plane. The blind are made to see, 
the lame to walk, the lepers are cleansed and 
the dead are raised up. 

Sinners, will you come to it ? Nothing but 
this will change you and prepare you for the 
death you so much dread. Backsliders, there 
is ap. invitation to you. With your harp on 
the willow you may sing, u What peaceful 
hours I once enjoyed." You may have 
mourned a lifetime the u aching void the world 
can never fill," and may do penance a thous- 
and years, and yet the Holy Dove will not re- 
turn. Rise up in the little strength remaining 
that is all but ready to die, repent heartily of 
your disobedience, confess fully your walking 
contrary to God, and also that he has walked 



316 EXTRACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

contrary to you, renew your broken vows with 
an intention and determination never before 
had, and then turn to the true gospel; wait 
there, watching the offering, until the Holy 
Ghost gives you one of its promises applicable 
to your case. Remember Satan can quote truth 
to you ; but you have known the right voice, 
you will hear it again, and when the truth 
comes to your heart believe it ; continue to be- 
lieve it, it may be your last chance. Hold it 
with the grasp of a man in mid ocean with only 
a spar to save him from a watery grave, The 
vision may tarry a day, a week, or a month ; it 
is but to try you. God cannot deny himself ; 
his promise will be verified and you will be 
restored. 

Church member, will you throw away your 
false hope, believe and obey this gospel ? Your 
profession is but a cloak to hide under; but 
God's eye pierces through it and sees you 
walking contrary to his laws. Turn you ere it 
is too late, for why will you die, 0, house of 
Israel ? 

Methodist, will you take your baptismal vows 
that you have never believed and obeyed, read 
them and meditate ? They will convince you 
of your lost condition if you will but be honest 
with yourself ; if not they will condemn you in 
the final day. 

Preacher, will you look at the source from 



OF THE LATE GEORGE DUNKLE. 317 

whence your sermons come, and then see where 
Peter obtained the one that pricked to the 
heart three thousand souls? So many ideas 
from books have crowded out the simple belief 
of a child, and you are following in the well 
trodden path of those who were before you, 
those who walk with you, and those who will 
follow you. You will see it is not a right way. 
Be a man and stand alone if need be with the 
truth, like the martyrs of Jesus, and God will 
reward you. 

Refined infidel, you have reasoned away 
hell, but the judgment day will reveal it a real- 
ity, although now covered over with sophistry. 
Satan spoke the delusion to you and it is a 
lovely song ; it leaves you to enjoy all your 
good things in this life, and you expect to gain 
heaven beside. Vain man ! you are left to be- 
lieve a lie because you received not the love of 
the truth. 

Deist, you have rejected the existence of 
your Maker ; you have denied him a kingdom 
in your heart ; you have robbed him of your 
service ; you have dragged your children, your 
friends, and your neighbors into the same hope- 
less darkness. Yet God will judge you, and 
those you have influenced will reproach you 
with their weeping and wailing and gnashing 
of teeth. 

Yes, all that will are invited to come, with- 



318 EXTEACTS FROM THE SERMONS 

out money or price. Come, — I have heard, — I 
say, come to a life of suffering, persecution, 
loneliness and poverty, years of treading the 
winepress alone, perhaps, — but what of the 
future ? Ah ! here is the goal : streets of gold, 
blood-washed bridal robes, saints and angels 
for company, the song of Moses and the Lamb, 
harps and crowns, no sorrow, tears wiped from 
all eyes forever. 

Which will you have ? Your good things in 
this life and hell, or the gospel in this life and 
heaven? 

I have called you. I leave it with you. We will 
meet at the judgment. I have done my duty. 
My skirts are clear. 

Thanks for the gospel, forever and forever ! 
It has done all for me I have offered to you. 
I am waiting for the Master's call with joy- 
ful expectation. No fear, no dread is in my 
heart. I have complied with his whole law, 
it cannot condemn me. I rejoice at the sum- 
mons. Farewell ! 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 
1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-2111 



